Insects and food security in South Africa in the light of climate change

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating socio-economic effect on the country, including the death of more than 102 000 people, many of whom were the breadwinners of their families. This could not have happened at a worse time, since the economy of the country was in a recession even before the pandemic. The situation is exacerbated by the highest level of unemployment in the world, widespread nepotism and corruption, the plundering of state coffers and the favouring of the business interests of BRICS partners by government officials over those of South Africans. The government's commitment to prioritising their BRICS partners' business interests over those of the South African people contributes to food insecurity in South Africa. This includes the export of coal from mines in Mpumalanga to China and India, while nothing is done to rehabilitate the region, which was once known for its agriculture. The government handed over to the Chinese company SAEMB the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone, where four opencast mines, a 3 300 MW power station and an iron smelting plant will be developed. This development, however, requires the government to build a dam that will harvest 60% of the annual runoff of the Limpopo River, which in turn will have a devastating effect on farmers and communities downriver in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique who irrigate their crops with water from the Limpopo River. The same kowtowing of the South African government to its BRICS partners can be seen in the reluctance with which the government responds to the plundering of our marine resources by Chinese fishing boats and abalone smugglers. The unfair competition imposed on local chicken farmers by distributers of dumped chicken, mainly from Brazil, with the approval of government, caused the closure of several South African chicken farms and the resulting loss of tens of thousands of jobs along the supply chain. The reluctance of the government to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine war is partly linked to the fact that South Africa imports fertilizer and wheat from Russia. South Africa, a water-scarce country, is more vulnerable than many other countries to the effects of global climate change. The abnormal rain pattern, that is characterised by severe droughts in certain regions and heavy rainstorms and floods in others, has a devastating impact on the already economically struggling South African community. Abroad, attempts are made to ensure that mean temperatures do not exceed the pre-industrial level mark by more than 1,5 degrees C. South Africa, however, heats up twice as fast as many other countries, and has already exceeded the pre-industrial era level by more than 2 degrees C;it will continue to get warmer and drier, causing most of the country to become desertified by 2050. A third of South African rivers do not reach the sea anymore because of over ion of water from rivers;similarly, there is extensive ion of groundwater. Together farming and forestry account for 70% of water use in South Africa. This over ion of water, worsened by the heat and aridification resulting from climate change, led to the degradation of most wetland and estuarine ecosystems and the drying and burning of irreplaceable peatlands. These political, socioeconomic and environmental calamities create the worst possible scenario for food security in South Africa. Already one in four people in Africa suffers from food insecurity and this number will rapidly rise in the wake of global climate change, which will result in the loss of two thirds of arable land by 2025. South Africa is nearing socioeconomic collapse. This, in conjunction with continuing droughts, storms and rising temperatures associated with global climate change, will lead to food insecurity, starvation and anarchy. The effect of global climate change will make it progressively more difficult to produce enough food for the South African population. It is imperative that South Africans consider alternative methods of food production, including water use. Entomophagy is widely practiced throughout the world, but is especially prevalent in South America, the Far East and Africa, where approximately 2 billion people use 1 900 species of insects as food. The nutritional value of insects is unsurpassed and, in some respects, even more nutritious than meat. The larvae of the black soldier fly (BSF) Hermetia illucens are a source of high-quality proteins and unsaturated fats that are used worldwide as animal feed. Insects are a source of minerals such as iron, calcium, copper, zinc and magnesium and high levels of vitamin A, B 2 and C. The ecological and socioeconomic benefits of using BSF larvae instead of grain as feed for fish, chickens and pigs are enormous. BSF larvae can be bred almost for free by feeding it a wide variety of organic waste, including rotten vegetables and fruit, manure and even carcases that would have ended up in rubbish dumps and would have contributed to the methane and carbon dioxide pollution emanating from such dumps. The water use of BSF is negligible, because the water in the organic waste that would have been discarded in waste dumps is sufficient to sustain them. BSF affords the subsistence and small-scale farmer the opportunity to raise chickens at a lower input cost than ever before. The conversion of feed to food in insects is far greater than that of chickens, pigs or cattle. In the case of the house cricket (Acheta domestica) the conversion rate of feed to food is twice as effective as that of chickens, four times as effective as pigs and twelve times greater than that of cattle. Compared to conventional farming, this implies that with insects far more exceptionally nutritious food can be produced in a smaller area, with little water and no poison or fertilizer whatsoever, while waste and the associated methane gas are removed from the environment at the same time. A few South African companies have already seen the potential of insects as food and feed. Even though insect farming is still in its infancy, it is already generating jobs and new socioeconomic opportunities in South Africa. Insect farming, especially BSF farming, will in the near future probably grow in popularity all over the world as an affordable, healthy, ecologically sustainable alternative food source that will, directly or indirectly, be consumed by humans. BSF afford the environmentally conscious homesteader who wants to produce livestock such as chickens, fish, or pigs in a sustainable manner an unsurpassed environmentally friendly alternative. BSF will also give the desperate, impoverished and starving population of the future an alternative free source of feed that will offer them economic prospects and food security.

Insekte en voedselsekerheid in Suid-Afrika in die lig van klimaatsverandering

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating socio-economic effect on the country, including the death of more than 102 000 people, many of whom were the breadwinners of their families. This could not have happened at a worse time, since the economy of the country was in a recession even before the pandemic. The situation is exacerbated by the highest level of unemployment in the world, widespread nepotism and corruption, the plundering of state coffers and the favouring of the business interests of BRICS partners by government officials over those of South Africans. The government's commitment to prioritising their BRICS partners' business interests over those of the South African people contributes to food insecurity in South Africa. This includes the export of coal from mines in Mpumalanga to China and India, while nothing is done to rehabilitate the region, which was once known for its agriculture. The government handed over to the Chinese company SAEMB the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone, where four opencast mines, a 3 300 MW power station and an iron smelting plant will be developed. This development, however, requires the government to build a dam that will harvest 60% of the annual runoff of the Limpopo River, which in turn will have a devastating effect on farmers and communities downriver in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique who irrigate their crops with water from the Limpopo River. The same kowtowing of the South African government to its BRICS partners can be seen in the reluctance with which the government responds to the plundering of our marine resources by Chinese fishing boats and abalone smugglers. The unfair competition imposed on local chicken farmers by distributers of dumped chicken, mainly from Brazil, with the approval of government, caused the closure of several South African chicken farms and the resulting loss of tens of thousands of jobs along the supply chain. The reluctance of the government to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine war is partly linked to the fact that South Africa imports fertilizer and wheat from Russia. South Africa, a water-scarce country, is more vulnerable than many other countries to the effects of global climate change. The abnormal rain pattern, that is characterised by severe droughts in certain regions and heavy rainstorms and floods in others, has a devastating impact on the already economically struggling South African community. Abroad, attempts are made to ensure that mean temperatures do not exceed the pre-industrial level mark by more than 1,5 °C. South Africa, however, heats up twice as fast as many other countries, and has already exceeded the pre-industrial era level by more than 2 °C;it will continue to get warmer and drier, causing most of the country to become desertified by 2050. A third of South African rivers do not reach the sea anymore because of over ion of water from rivers;similarly, there is extensive ion of groundwater. Together farming and forestry account for 70% of water use in South Africa. This over ion of water, worsened by the heat and aridification resulting from climate change, led to the degradation of most wetland and estuarine ecosystems and the drying and burning of irreplaceable peatlands. These political, socioeconomic and environmental calamities create the worst possible scenario for food security in South Africa. Already one in four people in Africa suffers from food insecurity and this number will rapidly rise in the wake of global climate change, which will result in the loss of two thirds of arable land by 2025. South Africa is nearing socioeconomic collapse. This, in conjunction with continuing droughts, storms and rising temperatures associated with global climate change, will lead to food insecurity, starvation and anarchy. The effect of global climate change will make it progressively more difficult to produce enough food for the South African population. It is imperative that South Africans consider alternative methods of food production, including water use. Entomophagy is widel practiced throughout the world, but is especially prevalent in South America, the Far East and Africa, where approximately 2 billion people use 1 900 species of insects as food. The nutritional value of insects is unsurpassed and, in some respects, even more nutritious than meat. The larvae of the black soldier fly (BSF) Hermetia illucens are a source of high-quality proteins and unsaturated fats that are used worldwide as animal feed. Insects are a source of minerals such as iron, calcium, copper, zinc and magnesium and high levels of vitamin A, B2 and C. The ecological and socioeconomic benefits of using BSF larvae instead of grain as feed for fish, chickens and pigs are enormous. BSF larvae can be bred almost for free by feeding it a wide variety of organic waste, including rotten vegetables and fruit, manure and even carcases that would have ended up in rubbish dumps and would have contributed to the methane and carbon dioxide pollution emanating from such dumps. The water use of BSF is negligible, because the water in the organic waste that would have been discarded in waste dumps is sufficient to sustain them. BSF affords the subsistence and small-scale farmer the opportunity to raise chickens at a lower input cost than ever before. The conversion of feed to food in insects is far greater than that of chickens, pigs or cattle. In the case of the house cricket (Acheta domestica) the conversion rate of feed to food is twice as effective as that of chickens, four times as effective as pigs and twelve times greater than that of cattle. Compared to conventional farming, this implies that with insects far more exceptionally nutritious food can be produced in a smaller area, with little water and no poison or fertilizer whatsoever, while waste and the associated methane gas are removed from the environment at the same time. A few South African companies have already seen the potential of insects as food and feed. Even though insect farming is still in its infancy, it is already generating jobs and new socioeconomic opportunities in South Africa. Insect farming, especially BSF farming, will in the near future probably grow in popularity all over the world as an affordable, healthy, ecologically sustainable alternative food source that will, directly or indirectly, be consumed by humans. BSF afford the environmentally conscious homesteader who wants to produce livestock such as chickens, fish, or pigs in a sustainable manner an unsurpassed environmentally friendly alternative. BSF will also give the desperate, impoverished and starving population of the future an alternative free source of feed that will offer them economic prospects and food security. [ FROM AUTHOR]

Production efficiency of animal feed obtained from food waste in Japan.

Converting food waste into animal feed is highly useful for tackling the problem of food waste, which is particularly severe in developed countries. This study quantified the inefficiencies in converting food waste into animal feed and identified the sources of inefficiencies through a data envelopment analysis (DEA) of the monthly input-output data of two food waste-based animal feed producers in Japan. Our empirical analysis revealed that the producers of animal feed obtained from food waste (especially those treating food waste from retail and service industries) demonstrated inefficiencies in production technology and scale; moreover, expanding the production scale and improving the quality of food waste could enhance production efficiency. Based on the empirical results, specific policy implications were provided for the widespread use of animal feed obtained from food waste in Japan and elsewhere, globally. Furthermore, it was suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a severe reduction in the production efficiency of animal feed producers treating food waste obtained from retail and service industries.

Sustainable indigenous cattle production in Brebes Regency, Indonesia: opportunities and threats during pandemic

This study assesses the sustainability of indigenous cattle production (Jabres Cattle) during the COVID 19 pandemic in Brebes Regency, Indonesia. The sustainability of Jabres cattle production is considered from the aspects of production, socio-economic, and environmental aspects. The study was conducted on 64 Jabres farmers in 5 sub-districts (Ketanggungan, Bantarkawung, Banjarharjo, Larangan, and Salem). Respondents were taken using a simple random sampling method and data was taken using online questionnaires. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The indigenous cattle farmers in Brebes Regency have a long experience as beef cattle farmers (10.7 years on average) with an average ownership scale of 7 heads. During the pandemic, there was an increase of 54.7 percent of farmers who felt it was difficult to get cattle breeds compared to before the pandemic. The number of farmers who found it difficult to get forage also showed an increase of 36 percent compared to before the pandemic. Likewise, an increase in the number of farmers (75 percent) felt that it was increasingly difficult to sell beef cattle, which resulted in not making it easy for profits. However, the COVID 19 pandemic can encourage all farmers to pay more attention to the cleanliness of cowshed and the cage environment. Most of the indigenous cattle farmers (89 percent) remain committed to continuing their business despite difficulties in obtaining calves, feed, and selling cattle. Farmers still have confidence that the difficult situation will pass, and demand slaughter cattle will recover.

Activated Carbon Impregnated with Elementary Iodine: Applications against Virus- and Bacteria-Related Issues

An iodine-doped activated carbon (named IodAC) was developed by adsorbing molecular iodine (I2) on commercially available activated carbon (AC). Iodine was selected with the purpose to add its well-known antibacterial and antiviral properties to the AC and in order to produce an innovative material for environmental pathogens control and for healthcare-related applications. The impregnation method achieved the goal of strongly adsorbing iodine on the AC surface, since both volatility and water solubility resulted to be negligible, and therefore it did not affect the stability of the material. An antibacterial test (on Escherichia coli) and an antiviral test (on an avian influenza strain) were conducted, showing the effectiveness of IodAC against the pathogens. In addition, IodAC was also compared to slaked lime (a material widely used for disinfection of outdoor spaces and livestock farming areas). The data proved the performance of IodAC against virus and bacteria and also evidenced a more stable and long-lasting disinfecting power of IodAC compared to slaked lime, the later reacting with carbon dioxide and suffering a gradually decrease of its disinfectant power;such drawback does not affect IodAC. Overall, the presented results show that IodAC can be used for a wide range of applications, including as a granular disinfectant for public spaces, for water disinfection, zoonotic diseases countermeasures (e.g., as an animal feed additive for avian influenza control), post-harvest food storage, and sanitization. Its characteristics also indicate its potential to be used for medical treatments, such as for blood, intestinal (for HIV, sepsis, irritable syndrome, ulcerative colitis therapy), and medical supplies (antibacterial bandages, gauze, cotton, etc.) sterilization.

The perception level on the impact of integrated livestock-fish production systems towards the environmental pollution

The integrated farming activities have become more popular in the last decade. It expects to increase productivity by optimizing the land and minimizing environmental pollution. The study aims to understand the perception level of society towards the environmental pollution of the integrated livestock-fish production system on raising catfish and laying duck (Clarias sp and Anas platyrhynchos). The study was conducted in Desa Balunijuk, Bangka. The questionnaire was used for the data collection technique through a face-to-face interview by following the health protocol of Covid-19. Two stages of data collection were applied: before and after treatment of Probio_Fm. Qualitative descriptive was employed to analyze the data. The respondents were the society who lived nearby the location of the study. A mixture of probiotics was employed on the feed and the catfish pond. The study found that the perception was significantly different between before and after treatment of Probio_Fm particularly on the negative environmental effects such as odor pollutants due to unmanaged animal waste. It occurred at the very beginning of the study during the wet season before the probiotic treatment. Interestingly, during the dry season, the probiotic treatment was regularly applied. The odor pollutant impact decreased even not having a bad odor at all. The waste both absorbed in the sand and was streamed through the drain pipeline. However, most of the respondents were not disturbed due to the odor pollutant surrounding the integrated livestock-fish production system. It articulated that the probiotic treatment worked effectively in unraveling the bacteria so that the pollutant level decreased drastically. The study recommended various solutions to the problems: the draining pipeline should be repaired, the animal feed should use probiotics to achieve optimal use of nutrition, consistent and effective feeding should be applied, and the cleanliness of the duck house should be properly maintained. The monitoring and evaluation of the environmental impact towards the integrated livestock-fish production system should involve relevant stakeholders such as a village government, the management, and society as a whole so that the healthy and environment-friendly integrated fisheries activity can be achieved.