PhD Project
The impact if cricket farming on rural livelihoods, nutrition and the environment in Thailand and Kenya
Dr. Afton Halloran
MSc Agricultural Development
University of Copenhagen
Denmark
About the thesis
Over the past five years, a growing amount of attention has been placed on the potential of edible insect species to address the global challenge of food and nutrition security. Even greater attention has been put on the handful of insect species which can be easily domesticated and raised en masse.
Some of these species belong to the Gryllidae (cricket) family. The oldest and most developed example of cricket farming for human consumption comes from Thailand. For nearly 20 years, thousands of rural Thai farmers have adopted and developed these unique farming systems, providing not only food for their households but also employment and income.
This development has resulted in the subsequent promotion of small- and medium-scale insect farming systems in rural communities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), such as Kenya. However, the policy environment for cricket farming, the social and environmental impacts in Thailand and the adoption of cricket farming in Kenya is not well understood. There is therefore a critical need for more research into the impacts of cricket farming on nutrition, rural livelihoods and the environment.
My PhD thesis addresses this research gap by reviewing the literature and empirically examining cases from Thailand and Kenya. The results of this thesis are a part of ’GREEiNSECT: Insects for Green Economy’, a research project that assesses the contribution of insects to green economy.
2017, 157 pages.
Opponents
Professor Inge Tetens (chair), Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Associate Professor Elaine Ferguson, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
Professor Roberta Salomone, Department of Economics, University of Messina, Italy
Supervisor
Associate Professor Nanna Roos, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Co-supervisor
Associate Professor Sander Bruun, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen
More information
Afton Hallorans workprofile Researchgate & Linkedin
About Afton
Afton Halloran graduated with honours from the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia. She specialized in sustainable food systems and rural development for her Bachelor of Science. Afton completed her Master of Science in Agricultural Development in 2012, where she researched the institutionalization and legitimization of urban agriculture in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Copenhagen, Denmark. Her interests are farmers organizations, food policy, sustainable diets, rural and urban development and sustainable food systems.
More information
Afton Hallorans workprofile Researchgate & Linkedin