Acceptance of insects as an alternative protein source for poultry feeds in Kenya

Livestock feed prices in Kenya have been rising over the last decade with the increase in price being attributed to the cost of protein ingredients especially soybean and fish meal in the feed. Several interventions have been explored to reduce the rising cost of feeds which account for 60-70% of the total variable cost of production. One of the major potential interventions is the use of insects to replace the above ingredients in commercial feeds in order to reduce the costs associated with commercial proteins. Econometric results revealed that poultry farmers are willing to adopt insects as feed for poultry. It was therefore recommended that extension education should be strengthened to boost farmers’ awareness of benefits of using insects.