FAO Thailand — Edible Insect Programme
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Thailand office has played a foundational role in establishing global edible-insect policy frameworks. FAO co-published the landmark 2013 report 'Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security' with Wageningen University, which catalysed the global insect-protein industry. The FAO Bangkok and Rome offices have since supported Thailand's Department of Livestock Development (DLD) in developing GAP standards for commercial cricket farming and engaged the Codex Alimentarius Commission on insect-ingredient food-safety standards. FAO Thailand's ongoing programme supports smallholder cricket farmers in Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima, and other northeastern provinces in accessing export-quality certification. Relevant to food-security policy, agri-food innovation investment, and alternative-protein sector regulation in Thailand.
Profile overview
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Thailand office has played a foundational role in establishing global edible-insect policy frameworks. FAO co-published the landmark 2013 report 'Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security' with Wageningen University, which catalysed the global insect-protein industry. The FAO Bangkok and Rome offices have since supported Thailand's Department of Livestock Development (DLD) in developing GAP standards for commercial cricket farming and engaged the Codex Alimentarius Commission on insect-ingredient food-safety standards. FAO Thailand's ongoing programme supports smallholder cricket farmers in Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima, and other northeastern provinces in accessing export-quality certification. Relevant to food-security policy, agri-food innovation investment, and alternative-protein sector regulation in Thailand.
Programme areas
Policy frameworks
Global insect food safety standards
FAO's landmark 2013 publication 'Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security' established the global regulatory and research baseline. The Bangkok office continues to engage the Codex Alimentarius Commission on hygiene standards for insect-based ingredients used in food and animal feed.
Smallholder support
Cricket farming GAP certification
FAO Thailand supports DLD's Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) certification for smallholder cricket farmers in northeastern provinces including Khon Kaen and Nakhon Ratchasima. GAP-certified farms can access export markets and premium processor relationships.
Research
Academic and industry knowledge transfer
FAO publishes cricket-farming manuals, feeds-and-nutrition research, and circular-economy case studies. These resources are freely available and have been adopted by Khon Kaen University, agricultural-development programmes, and investor-funded insect startups globally.
Export facilitation
Novel-food market access dialogue
FAO engages with the EU, Singapore, South Korea, and other importing-country regulators on novel-food pathways for insect ingredients. This dialogue supports Thai exporters' market-access planning as EU Novel Food Regulation coverage expands to cricket powder.
Thai edible insect sector structure
Key actors in Thailand's cricket farming and novel-protein ecosystem
FAO Thailand
Role
Standards, smallholder support, policy
Segment
Regulatory and knowledge infrastructure
DLD (Dept. of Livestock Development)
Role
GAP certification and inspection
Segment
Farm-level quality assurance
Role
Research, training, variety development
Segment
Academic support
Bugsolutely (private)
Role
Insect-ingredient food product brand
Segment
B2C novel food products
Thailand Unique (private)
Role
Insect product exporter
Segment
Export to EU, Australia, USA
Khaosod / SmartBug farms
Role
Large-scale cricket farm operators
Segment
Raw cricket supply
| Actor | Role | Segment |
|---|---|---|
| FAO Thailand | Standards, smallholder support, policy | Regulatory and knowledge infrastructure |
| DLD (Dept. of Livestock Development) | GAP certification and inspection | Farm-level quality assurance |
| Khon Kaen University | Research, training, variety development | Academic support |
| Bugsolutely (private) | Insect-ingredient food product brand | B2C novel food products |
| Thailand Unique (private) | Insect product exporter | Export to EU, Australia, USA |
| Khaosod / SmartBug farms | Large-scale cricket farm operators | Raw cricket supply |
Watchpoints 2025–2026
Regulation
EU novel food approvals for cricket species
The EU approved Acheta domesticus (house cricket) as a novel food in January 2023. Additional approvals for other species are pending. Each new approval opens a market segment, and FAO's standard-setting work directly supports Thai exporters' dossier applications.
Quality
Hygiene and pathogen-control traceability
Thailand's cricket farming is fragmented. Achieving consistent pathogen control, feed inputs, and processing hygiene across thousands of smallholder operations is the main supply-chain bottleneck that limits export scale from Thailand's current 20,000 farm base.
Market
Feed protein versus human food positioning
Most Thai cricket output currently goes into insect-protein animal feed rather than direct human food products. The transition to higher-value human-food ingredients requires both regulatory approval and consumer-acceptance progression in target markets.
Source-pack context
FAO Thailand — Edible Insect Programme is linked to existing Insight report coverage through tracked source packs. The cited sources provide the current evidence trail for market context, regulatory exposure, operator positioning, or sector structure; exact numeric claims should still be checked against raw snapshots before being surfaced as headline metrics.[, , ]
Deep operating read
FAO's Thailand edible-insect work is sector infrastructure: research, manuals, standards, and legitimacy for a fragmented cricket-farming and novel-protein base. The source pack links Thai edible-insect leadership to farm practices, academic support, and export-facing novel-food frameworks. FAO's value is in making smallholder production legible to regulators and buyers.[, , ]
Execution watchpoints
Track whether guidance becomes auditable supply-chain practice: hygiene, feed, pathogen control, processing standards, and traceability. Novel-protein upside depends on regulatory acceptance in markets like the EU and Singapore, not just local farming enthusiasm. Fragmentation is the bottleneck; manuals only matter if processors and inspectors enforce them.[, , ]
Related Market profiles
Peers, parents, partners, agencies, and other Alternative Proteins actors.
Competitor
Bugsolutely
Bangkok-based edible-insect food brand founded 2015; creator of Cricket Pasta, one of the first commercially launched insect-flour pasta products globally.
Open Market profile →
Competitor
Khon Kaen University — Cricket Farming Research Programme
Thailand's leading academic centre for commercial cricket-farming R&D, based in Khon Kaen; has trained thousands of Thai farmers and produced foundational cricket-husbandry science.
Open Market profile →
Reports featuring this profile
Related Market profiles
competitor
Bugsolutely
Bangkok-based edible-insect food brand founded 2015; creator of Cricket Pasta, one of the first commercially launched insect-flour pasta products globally.
competitor
Khon Kaen University — Cricket Farming Research Programme
Thailand's leading academic centre for commercial cricket-farming R&D, based in Khon Kaen; has trained thousands of Thai farmers and produced foundational cricket-husbandry science.