It’s part of that drive for modernity - pfeople are looking for other sources of protein in food Patrice Levang Some of these alterations, however, have made the landscape more attractive-at least to the beetles. Additionally, of the 4.5 million tons of bushmeat extracted from the Congo Basin every year, much is traded in urban centers, not exclusively within the logging concessions where much of the meat is obtained. This is especially true in the eastern region, the source of 57 percent of the country’s timber products. “I was surprised by the level at which the beetle is consumed in the region,” Muafor added.Įcological alterations-such as new roads, logging concessions, or conversion of forest to agricultural land-in parts of Cameroon have decreased the availability of bushmeat for rural consumers. The study found that more than 90 percent of local tribes eat the insects when they are seasonally available. Forest insects like Augosoma are important protein alternatives that are valuable in such ecologically altered areas, especially when they are abundant.” “But in very fragmented ecosystems, bushmeat and at times fish are rare, especially in the dry season. “Local people here generally depend on the forest to satisfy their protein needs,” said Fogoh Muafor, research scientist with the Living Forest Trust and lead author of the study. Their collection and consumption also serves as a natural form of pest control for local plantations of raffia palm, a crop that provides another key source of villagers’ livelihoods.Īnd yet, despite the prevalence of the crunchy cuisine, researchers note that taste for the delicacy seems to have soured. Eaten in larval and adult stages, they provide much-needed micronutrients, protein, and income for the rural poor during the dry season.
Edible insects improve diets and livelihoods of up to 2 billion peopleĪugosoma beetles are a traditional alternative to bushmeat and fish consumption in eastern Cameroon.
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