Communities, insects and sustainable food production systems: experiences of insect gatherers in Uganda.

The urgency to achieve food security and improve nutrition, and the impact of climate change at global level have led to an increased focus on establishing sustainable food production systems. Throughout history, for some communities, insects have contributed to food security and the management of a shared environment. Traditionally, certain insect species are identified as suitable for human consumption as direct food or used in livestock feed, cropping processes, and in sustaining the agrobiodiversity as pollinators. At least two billion people eat about two thousands one hundred and forty insect species worldwide. For these consumers, insects are part of their traditions, food culture and livelihoods. There is the need to recognise insect gathering as part of these communities’ food production systems. This paper will address the role of self-organised groups of insect gatherers as a driving force in developing and sustaining food production systems in Uganda. Using a participatory action research approach, data collection involved a community mapping framework and semi-structured interviews to establish the typology of grasshopper harvesting actors and activities in three Ugandan communities; and to identify the socioeconomic and environmental value of gathering activities and harvested grasshoppers. The study sample involved three hundred and forty research participants, with data collection spanning across three consecutive harvesting seasons. The emerging themes point to traditions and cultural practices as key facets that underpin self-organised community of grasshopper gatherers in terms of responsibilities, accountability, rules and norms that govern the grasshopper gathering activity in the three communities. Collected data illustrates ways in which key variables, e.g. gender and socioeconomic status intersect with gatherer status, gathering activities and gathering environment; shape gatherers’ understanding of how gathering activities are assessed, interpreted and negotiated at different stages of the process, and influencing factors of ownership, access, value setting, amenities, socioeconomic networks. This paper argues that as the investigated communities recognise the significant contribution of insect gathering to food security, wellbeing, and local economy, in locations where entomophagy is a common practice, insect gathering forms an integral part of local food production systems. The paper further argues that the blending of traditions, culture, norms and local knowledge shapes localised and specific conditions that influence insect gathering framework, power sharing, and establishment of individual rights and related responsibilities toward developing and sustaining insect gathering within local food production systems.