Although there are lots of opportunities in Agriculture,( Animal production; Fishery, cattle herd, snairy, and poultry production, etc), (Plant production; Vitamin A cassava, grains and recently Cashew nut production and export ), In the face of all these options you are aware of, let me quickly point out to you a promising and recently exploited area in Animal production ; The Graasscutter Farming Business.
Grasscutter popularly known as cane rat belongs to the rodent family and is very closely related to the porcupine, almost look alike except that porcupine is bigger. The spiny fur on the back and rounded nose distinguish Grasscutter from true rats. It reaches a length of about 720 mm when fully matured.
Why grasscutter?
The main reason Grasscutters are now preferred by some farmers for rearing purposes is because they are easy to house and you don’t necessarilly need to buy food for them as you do in fish, poultry and pig farming. Grasscutter is also a stress-free, profitable venture that will stimulate fast income without having to go to bed with one eye opened like say poultry business. Grasscutter farming is not as popular in Nigeria like other animals or livestock farming, nonetheless, it is a reliable fast income generating venture that many are yet to realize.
Nutritional benefit of grasscutter.
In terms of health benefits of consuming grasscutter, it has been discovered that it produces white meat that is very similar in taste and texture to seafood depending on the age at which they are slaughtered. Beyond this, grasscutter is high in protein yet low in fat. The relatively low fat content makes the grasscutter meat a choice meat for patients with cardiac problems. Grasscutters have medicinal advantages, because of their pancreas which has a high concentration of insulin used in the treatment of diabetes. This major advantage makes them a key piece of the manufacturing process some pharmaceutical companies use in making diabetes drugs.
General behavior
Grasscutters live in small groups led by a single male. They are nocturnal and make nests from grasses.
The dominant male will not tolerate the presence of another mature male in thesame cage. They are vegetarian and eat the roots, shoots, and stems of various grasses. They cut the grass stems at the base with their powerful incisors, and then while sitting in an upright position, they manipulate the grass stem or other foodstuff with their front paws while pushing it into the mouth and chopping it into small pieces with the incisors. Grasses are their principal food, including elephant grass, Pennisetum purpureum, and buffalo or guinea grass, Panicum maximum. They consume the soft parts of the grasses and shrubs, and the drier sections and leaves are often discarded.
The female reaches sexual maturity at 5 months, but it is not advisable to be used in breeding until it is 6 months old, when it weighs approximately 1.5kg. After a gestation period of 152 days (about 5 months), the female gives birth to an average of 4 young ones, which are morphologically identical to adults.
Housing
Various systems have been used and still being applied for housing grasscutter of different species. In the rural communities, grasscutter has been bred and kept in boxes, empty drums, Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) pipes and enclosures. Nevertheless, the grasscutter could be properly managed under these three systems: enclosure, cage and floor. Grasscutter don’t like sleeping where they eat! If you are providing them house you must put this factor into consideration – either cage or house, you must provide sleeping place and dinning and playing place.
Breeding stock
When making your selection, it should be based on body weight. All the females within a family should be having almost the same body weight and the male grasscutter should be 0.5-1kg heavier than the females. Don’t buy or breed closely related mating pairs; that is, a male closely related to the females. It is advisable to house a colony of 4 Does to be serviced by a Buck. Ensure to get breeder stock is gotten from a reputable farm.
Feeding
Good feeds are the most important factors for successful and profitable Grasscutter farming. Grasscutter is a herbivorous animal meaning their source of food is basically from the bush, that’s why they are more comfortable in the bush where their foods could easily be found. Their major food is Elephant or Napier grass. They also love Sugar cane and most farmers use sugar cane mainly for their feeding, Guinea grass. The root and pitch of oil and coconut palms, bark of the anacardium and fruits such as half ripen pawpaw, plantain, pineapple, mango etc are their delight. Food crops such as groundnut, rice, maize, grain legume, tubers like cassava, sweet potato etc also make part of their food, Grasscutter also feed on palm wine and that is why they destroy oil palm plantation
Reproduction
The animal reproduces very quickly and in good numbers. A fully grown female Grasscutter after gestation, carries the pregnancy for 140 – 150 days and deliver twice a year. Each pregnancy produces average of four to seven young ones. Sometimes up to ten, that means one female Grasscutter could produce 8 – 20 other Grasscutters in a year. The principal objectives of a Grasscutter breeder would be to reproduce good quality animals with a low rate of mortality, observed in both the kindled litters and the nursing doe.
SAMPLE PROPOSAL FOR A COLONY
A colony consist of a male and 4 females. It is usually purchased together at once in any reputable Grasscutter breeding farm. Current price of a colony is between 60,000 -100,000. Depending on the age you want to get them.
Females give birth to 4 to 8 young ones twice a year, because they have gestation period of 4 to 5 months. Making an average of about 6 young ones per animal per birth, 24 kids per colony at the 1st birth and about 48 per colony per year, all things being equal.
Mature weight of the animal ranges from 3.5kg to 4.5kg, a kg of the meat is sold for 2500, therefore a colony in a year will give average of 48*3.5kg* 2500 = 420,000.
Marginal return per colony will involve that you take out cage, feeding and management expenses for the first production. In subsequent production, only money for feed and management will be deducted from the total sales made.
Market
The market potential is very huge. Grasscutter meat or Bush meat is probably the most desirable animal meat in the market. Everyone loves it and it sells very fast. Big restaurants uses it to prepare high priced delicacies. Full meat of a mature Grasscutter goes for between N4,500 to N6000 in the market and the market women who trade in it are always in demand of it.
Challenges
The biggest enemies for Grasscutter are Snakes and Soldier Ants .Make sure their house are built in a safe place and you must also be wary of human thieves. Some other challenges of the grasscutter production include irregular supply of breeding stock, environmental issues, poor processing and marketing plan, lack of balanced diet, poor producer training and education, inadequate infrastructural development, poor information dissemination, incidences of diseases and mortality.
Solutions
To protect them from the invasion of soldier ants, you may pour black engine oil around their houses, especially at night during raining season mostly. Their cage
should be overlay with dry soft grasses to protect their feet from being hurt and to provide them soft cushy play ground condition. In case of severe diseases, isolate the sick animal. Call in expert for treatment.
Potential farmers should not just rush into the business without adequate education/training, planning and infrastructure. Farmers must also ensure a good breeding stock is acquired.
Ahmed Olanrewaju Aliyu.
Agribusiness consultant
07035720065.
Agritreasure@gmail.com.
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