The Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) has proposed the use of crickets and snails as alternative foods for Kenyans amid food shortage fears.Speaking during the Nairobi International Trade Fair 2026 on Wednesday, September 30, JKUAT Vice Chancellor Victoria Wambui said the university was exploring alternative food sources as part of efforts to diversify what Kenyans consume.According to Wambui, the move is aimed at helping farmers diversify production and improve food security."We are proposing the use of crickets and snails as food, and if you visit our stand, you'll be able to learn how you can even cook some of these foods," Wambui stated.The VC insists that farmers should embrace agricultural innovations such as crickets and snails, which she said could open new opportunities for food production while providing additional sources of income.At the same time, the university is also promoting new agricultural opportunities through tissue culture, with the Vice Chancellor highlighting plantain and dragon fruit seedlings developed using new protocols.Wambui said the seedlings were being sold to Kenyans who could plant them on their farms and assess their growth and fruit production."We have also come up with very good protocols in the area of tissue culture for things like plantain and dragon fruit, and therefore these are other seedlings that we are selling to Kenyans," the VC added.The university explained that it was not only conducting research but also training farmers on how to adopt the technologies and use the products developed by its researchers.The move comes as Kenya is faced with a looming food shortage crisis following rain failures and the anticipated El Niño rains beginning in October.The government has announced plans to import over one million bags of maize from Zambia in efforts to avert the looming crisis.However, the proposals for alternative food varieties like snails seek to cushion the country from the looming crisis.It is worth noting that snails and crickets are widely consumed in other parts of the world, including Asia, Europe and parts of West Africa. In Kenya, however, the practice is being adopted slowly, with farmers putting up snail and cricket farms.
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