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Background: Edible insects are a sustainable source of high-quality animal protein. Insect farming is gaining interest globally, particularly in low-income countries, where it may provide substantial nutritional and economic benefits. To enhance insect farming practices in Africa, new farming systems are being developed. However, knowledge on how to best promote uptake of these systems is lacking. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating the effectiveness of educational interventions in promoting insect farming for household consumption in Africa. Method: The study is designed as a multi-site randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impacts of agricultural training alone or in combination with nutrition education on the adoption of insect farming in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda. In each of the three countries, ninety-nine villages are randomly assigned to one of three arms: two intervention arms and a control arm with no interventions. Focusing on production (P), the first intervention arm covers agricultural training on insect farming combined with provision of insect production starter kits. Focusing on both production and consumption (PC), the second intervention arm involves the same intervention components as treatment P plus additional nutrition education. The impacts of the interventions are measured by comparing baseline and endline data collected one year apart. Primary outcomes are adoption of insect farming and consumption of the farmed insects. Discussion: Understanding the drivers and impacts of novel agricultural practices is crucial for transitioning to sustainable food systems. The current project is the first to investigate how educational interventions promote insect farming for household consumption in low-income countries. The results will contribute evidence-based knowledge to support sustainable development through insect farming in Africa. Trial registration: The protocol is registered in the American Economic Association registry for randomized control trials with registration number AEARCTR-0009996. Initial registration date: 02 September 2022, last updated 17 May 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudotheraptus wayi Brown (Heteroptera: Coreidae) is a major pest of cashew in East Africa, but little is known about its chemical ecology. Here, we show by using behavioral assays and chemical analysis that some components of cashew leaf volatiles are attractants for male P. wayi. By using a petri dish arena-EthoVision video-tracking assay, males oriented closer to crude cashew leaf odor than females. In coupled gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection analysis, we found that four components of cashew leaf volatiles that were identified by coupled gas chromatog-raphy-mass spectrometry and confirmed with authentic standards as (E)- and (Z)-β-ocimene, alloocimene, and (Z)-3-hexenyl butyrate appeared to elicit stronger and more consistent responses in male than female antennae. We recorded electroantennograms from antennae of either sex, which confirmed that antennal responses of males to synthetic components of the cashew leaf odor were stronger than those of females. In the petri dish arena-Etho Vision video-tracking assay, males oriented closer to the synthetic cashew leaf monoterpenes than females. Our results suggest that specific monoterpenes in cashew leaf volatiles may serve as candidate kairomones for males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]