Cane rats feed, in the most part, on forage,

Dr Kingsley A. Etchu, Head of animal production, IRAD Ekona
Feeding and handling cane rat have always been a problem to the farmers ?Yes, it appears to be a big issue for a novice but I think the training these farmers have gone through and the practical modalities we have given them is quite assuring. First of all immediately they got to their destinations I called long distances like Eyumojock to ask them how they arrived and all was fine. Even the way most of them keep calling and asking questions encourages us.

How can they manage the animals to have better yields as you wish ?
Grass cutter production is even easier. Cane rats feed in the most part on forage and about 20% on concentrate. What they need is sanitation; the habitat needs to be clean and well secured to avoid any loss through a hole or theft. I think the training is a booster for the farmers to reach whatever level.
When do we expert a multiplier effect of the training and getting enough cane rats in the market?
When these farmers collected these animals, we made them to understand that after 10 months, each of these animals, the three females could have produced once, which means for the three females they will be getting at least 15 animals, but we are going back to them to collect just two animals. These collected animals will be passed on to other farmers to continue to multiply the cane rat farming. So, modalities have been put in place to ensure sustainability and we are very comfortable.

Sometimes farmers in this region could not meet an external demand of 25000 francs per live cane rat no matter the size, do you think the situation can improve ?
He was only buying and exporting without putting machinery to produce. If he was well advised, instead of buying and selling, he could have instead put machinery in place to produce for sustainability rather than damaging the new sector.
Any word to the lucky farmers who received the cane rats in Kumba ?
The farmers should make the best out of it. Grass cutter production is a simple exercise and they should maintain their farms in very good hygienic conditions, in this way their animals will never have any disease and the sky will be their limit By BDS.

Source: www.thefarmersvoice.org/uk/developement-news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1263288267&archive=&start_from=&ucat=16&