Assessing the Knowledge, Perception and Attitude of Youth on the Utilization of Edible Insects as Food and Feed

Youth unemployment is increasing with the diminishing opportunities for formal employment. Cases of food insecurity associated with youth unemployment are also on the rise. Protein obtained from farmed animals is in high demand and costly for the poor unemployed youth. Incorporating edible insects in our food systems has the potential to improve food security among the youth. Though there is limited information on the perspective of youth about the use of edible insects as food and feed in Kenya, therefore, the purpose of the study was to assess the knowledge, perception and attitude of youth on the utilization of edible insects as food and feed. The specific objectives of the study were to; determine the level of knowledge of youth on the utilization of edible insects and to evaluate the perception and attitude of youth towards the utilization of edible insects as food and feed. The target population for the study was youth of Vihiga County, with the age range between 18 to 35 years. A pre- tested questionnaire was used to collect primary data from randomly selected 270 participants. The Statistical Package for Social Science (ver.25) and Microsoft Excel software were deployed to analyze data. Data was analyzed in the form of descriptive and inferential statistics. The study results revealed that majority of youth have little knowledge about consumption, nutrition, harvesting, processing and use of insects as livestock feed. The results also showed that youth have a positive perception and attitude towards the use of edible insects. From the Chi-square analysis it was observed that age and education level have a significant association with the familiarity of edible insects consumption, p = .014 and p = .009 respectively. The results also shows that there is a significant association between awareness on the nutritional value of insects with age and education level, p = .001 and p =.009 respectively. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between demographic characteristics, knowledge, perception, attitude and the utilization of edible insects. The results revealed that education level, age, knowledge, perception and attitude have an impact on the utilization of edible insects. Hence, focus should be on educational interventions to raise awareness on the benefits of entomophagy, financial and technical support to enable sustainability of this business venture