Insects could become a sustainable food source in Africa, according to a presentation by a Zimbabwean agricultural food expert at the Food Security in Africa conference.

The conference, which is being held at the International Convention Centre in East London, Eastern Cape, is the first of its kind in the country and is organised by the University of Fort Hare in partnership with the University of Pretoria.

Robert Musundire of Zimbabwe's Chinhoyi University of Technology said the idea of eating insects was not far-fetched as people were already eating them for dietary purposes.

"Food is food, in good years you have rice, you have mielie meal, and insects are just one of the options. We are not saying they are going to solve food insecurity, but we are putting them in the basket of options.

"So we are saying if we develop value chain for insects they become a good option during hardships just like any other food commodity," Musundire said.

"We have been doing research since 2012 and have documented various species that are consumed by different communities."