In Africa, more than 120 million people, or 24 percent of the population, consume less food than they need for a healthy life. At the same time, land is degrading, biodiversity is depleting, agricultural output per capita is falling, and climate change is negatively affecting livelihoods and food systems. While current agri-food production models rely on abundant supplies of water, energy, and arable land and generate significant greenhouse gas emissions in addition to forest and biodiversity loss, past practices point toward more sustainable paths.

Frontier agriculture in a circular food economy is meant to be such a model. Frontier agriculture refers to approaches to agricultural production that sustainably expand the frontiers of current food production practices. Frontier agriculture includes insect farming and hydroponic farming, which are the focus of this report.

Insect farming is the process of producing insects for human food and animal feed, and hydroponic farming is the process of growing crops in nutrient-rich water solutions instead of soil. The technologies use organic waste, including agricultural or certain industrial waste, to quickly produce nutritious and protein-rich foods for humans, fish, and livestock and biofertilizers for soils. This improves food and nutrition security while reducing waste, strengthening national accounts, replenishing the environment, saving hard currency reserves by decreasing food and feed imports, and promoting green, resilient, and inclusive development.

Farming insects and hydroponic crops to achieve development goals is a novel and innovative development approach, especially for increasing climate resilience in vulnerable communities, including refugees or others, who live in resource-constrained areas that do not support conventional farming, such as cities and arid environments.

Farmed insects and hydroponic crops are sources of proteins, micronutrients, various oils, and biofertilizer. These insect protein sources are then converted into feed for fish and livestock, which humans consume. Humans can also consume farmed insects and hydroponic produce directly. The wastes from insect and hydroponic farming are then fed back into the system and used as substrate and organic fertilizer.

There are already hydroponic farms and nearly 1,000 insect farms in Africa, and each year the number of new entrants and markets around the world increases. Africans consume about 20 percent of the 2,100 insect species recognized as edible worldwide. Among these, approximately 18 are suitable for farming for animal feed or human food.

The market for farmed insects for human food and animal feed will be worth up to US$8 billion by 2030, with a 24 percent compound annual growth rate. The market for hydroponics was worth about US$8.1 billion in 2019 and will be worth US$16 billion by 2025—a 12.1 percent annual growth rate. As a result, major agri-food businesses and venture capital firms have already begun investing hundreds of millions of dollars in both industries.

Frontier agricultural technologies have a cost advantage over traditional agriculture when resource availability is constrained. In certain situations, frontier agriculture is already more cost-effective than traditional agriculture.