Feature: Kenyan farmers rear termites to feed families amid drought

As Kenya grapples with a severe drought that has affected close to 2 million people, smallholder farmers have turned to innovative ways including termites rearing to feed their families and supplement income.

Muriuki Njue, a middle-aged farmer from Nakuru County who recently lost staples in his 10-acre farm to raging drought, is one of the new termite farmers.

During an interview with Xinhua, Njue told how he shocked his neighbors with his decision to venture into termites rearing despite limited grasp of the trade.

The farmer was forced into the novel farming after failed rains and ravenous pests conspired to deny him harvest despite toiling hard in his farm.

Inspired by his relatives in eastern Kenya where the insects are providing solid incomes and nutrition to farmers, Njue thus chose to venture into termite rearing that many other Kenyan communities consider to be unhygienic.

Even though he is not professionally harvesting the termites, Njue has been lucky so far. On a good day, Njue is able to harvest a cup of termites that sell for 0.08 U.S. dollars in the local market.

"On a lucky day when the demand is high I sell at 0.1 dollars. We are optimistic and praying things be different this year as even these termites depend on rain to survive," Njue added.

Even as a recent study published by the African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development found that most Kenyans still see insects as ugly, smelly and poisonous creatures that cause allergic reactions, farmers like Njue are proving otherwise.

The study said that insects such as termites could be mixed with other foods such as maize and milled into flour. It encouraged farmers to breed insects such as termites, crickets and grasshoppers that do less damage to crops than other species like locusts.

Many farmers, however, lack the capacity to rear and harvest insects properly. While termites help decompose the soil, they can also attack crops when the soil lacks humidity and minerals.

DROUGHT BITES

In November last year, Kenya's cabinet secretary for agriculture, livestock and fisheries declared that the country was facing a severe drought.

Karunga, where Njue farms maize, is one of the hard-hit regions. According to Njue, the idea of harvesting termites was borne after visiting a friend in Embu, in the eastern region where insects harvesting has taken root.

So far, farmers in the western region of Kenya have also picked up the trend to cope with the prolonged drought according to the Nairobi-based International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE).

Njue's neighbor Regina Thumbi is also contemplating on taking a similar direction as her hopes on crops farming continue to dwindle.

"Things continue to get harder for farmers every year, we thought last year would be different as there were signs of rain but nature proved us wrong," she said.

Njue's colleagues in western Kenya too have embraced termites rearing based on a survey by the Nairobi-based International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE).

Sunday Ekesi, a principal scientist at ICIPE, said a variety of insects like termites, caterpillars, crickets and grasshoppers can be a respite to hunger-ravaged Kenyans. Endit