Listen: Are insects the future of farming?

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Luke Blomfield believes the future of farming could be based around a rather different form of protein - insects.

The Country's Jamie Mackay caught up with the banker-turned bug aficionado at the Bayer Future of Farming Dialogue 2018 in Düsseldorf and Amsterdam.

Blomfield used his business background to initially explore the financial gains from insects, but he ended up finding environmental benefits as well.

"Insects can be grown so quickly - in about 70 days for a cricket from egg to when you can harvest it and they can be grown on what is essentially food waste - banana skins and parts of vegetation that you would normally throw away."

"Originally I was thinking there's money to be [made] here. But there's often a lot of good that can be done as well from it. Good for the planet and solving food security issues."

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Rearing insects can be done on "autopilot," says Blomfield, who found that it was a extra source of income for local people when he visited Kenya.

"They could have their cricket pens and they could give them a bit of food in the morning ... and then they could get on with their normal day job."

So though insects can be easy to grow, environmentally friendly and a good source of income - but what do they taste like?

Blomfield says it depends on which insect you're eating, what that insect has eaten and how the insect is cooked. He recommends people who are feeling adventurous should try a deep-fried scorpion.