Grasshopper Farming Gains Popularity in Cambodia as Quick Income Source

In recent years, more than 50 farming households in Kampong Trabek district of Prey Veng province have started raising grasshoppers as a side business to supplement income from rice farming. The activity is gaining popularity due to its low investment and short production cycle.

Farmers explained that after the rice harvest each year, they often experience a period with little farm work and unstable income. A villager who learned grasshopper farming from relatives in another area began raising them a few months ago and achieved good results.

As the success spread, more villagers joined the activity, and over 50 families in the area are now involved in grasshopper farming.

The farming process is relatively simple. Farmers usually build a small frame in their yards and cover it with mosquito netting to keep out predators.

Grasshoppers are mainly fed with sugarcane stems, sugarcane leaves, and banana leaves. From larvae to harvest takes just over one month, and middlemen already visit the village to purchase the harvest.

Local traders said they buy grasshoppers from farmers at around 17,000 to 18,000 riel per kilogram and resell them in markets for about 30,000 riel per kilogram, with demand remaining relatively stable.