Abstract: Kenya faces acute food shortages to satisfy the increasing population as traditional food stocks continue to be depleted as a result of environmental changes and increasing population. Faced with problems of food insecurity, increasing food prices and overreliance on the traditional food items, there is an urgent need for Kenyans to diversify their food sources. In western Kenya, termites (white ants) have a long history of consumption as a delicacy during the rainy seasons. A major problem is that the termites are varied in species and may not all contain the ingredients required by humans for nutrition. The aim of this study was to establish the consumer preferences for the white ant (Pseudocanthotermes grandiceps) species in various urban centers of Kenya. This was done with an overall aim of determining whether white ants can be declared as an alternative food source in Kenya. Data was collected and analyzed. consumer preference was done through personal administered questionnaires that sought direct information on the issues of consuming white ants. Qualitative data from the questionnaires and interviews collected during this study were analyzed by descriptive statistics employing tools of central tendencies, frequency distributions, cross tabulations and chi-square (χ2) of goodness of fit tests using SPSS version 17.0. Chi-square test was suitable here since enabled the identification of any significant differences in the frequencies of the alternative response. All data was analyzed at a level of p < 0.05. After analysis, data were presented using table, bar graphs and pie charts. The median ingredient uptake volumes were calculated based on the respondents responses, which were then used to calculate the daily ingredient intake. The first survey identified that local consume beef, poultry, vegetables mainly traditional, cabbages, fish, and white ants. The consumers were asked to rank foods that should be considered a delicacy and should be advocated for all the Kenyan to take as long as they are available. The results show that beef ranked highest followed by white and brown ants respectively. Bacon and wild birds ranked lowest.
Keywords: white ants consumer, preference, termites, Pseudocanthotermes, grandiceps, nutrition.
Title: CONSUMER PREFERENCE OF TERMITES Pseudocanthotermes grandiceps (Isoptera: Termitidea) IN WESTERN KENYA
Author: JACOB N. MAKILA, ROBERT W NYUKURI, ALBERT W. MWONGULA
International Journal of Life Sciences Research
ISSN 2348-313X (Print), ISSN 2348-3148 (online)
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