Post by Ismail AbdulAzeez on Jul 7, 2015 11:06:14 GMT 1
Globally, the increasing demand for livestock for the purpose of consumption can not be over emphasized. As a result, the wildlife has immense potentials for meat production and serves as an important source of the highly desired animal protein to the people of Africa, both in urban areas and rural communities. The preference for bush meat or the meat of commercially available game animals is widely accepted. However, with ever increasing human population and obvious protein shortage in Africa, there is the need for an exploration of other means to provide readily acceptable meat on short term basis.
Among the wild rodents, the grasscutter, or cane rat or cane cutter is the most preferred. Grasscutter is a wild hystricomorphic rodent widely distributed in the African sub-region and exploited in most areas as a source of animal protein. Being the most preferred and most expensive meat in West Africa including Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Ghana and Cote d’ voire, it contributes to both local and export earning of most West African Countries and is therefore hunted aggressively. Unfortunately its collection from the wild is attended by destruction of the environment through the setting of bush fires by hunters. To alleviate this problem, attempts are being made in the sub-region to domesticate the grasscutter and make it more readily available, gain economic benefit and also reduce the environmental destruction that accompanies its collection from the wild.
The grasscutter, variously known as the marsh cane-rat, ground hog and in francophone West Africa, the aulacode or incorrectly, the agouti is a rodent but not a rat proper, since it belongs to the Hystricomorpha (porcupine family). This rodent subclass embraces similar species in both the old and new world, species which were originally classified according to the differentiation of the masticatory musculature. Due to their spatial separation, a common origin has often been contested and the hystricomorphic rodents of the new world have now been classified as Caviomorpha (guinea pig relatives). Hystricomorpha are correctly comprised of hystricidae (family of porcupines), Bathyergidae (family of sand-diggers), Thryonomydae (family of grass-cutters) and Petromuridae (family of African rock-rats) with the Phiomydis (African tertiary) as the common tribe group. Grasscutters are found only in Africa, where they are represented by a single genus, Thryonomys (identical with Aulacodes). Most of the species, subspecies or breeds described can be allied to one of the two following groups of species: Thryonomys swinderianus the larger grasscutter and Thryonomys gregorianus, the lesser grasscutter.
The feasibility reports on grasscutter farming ventures indicate that the long term profitability is comparable to that of poultry farming and higher than cattle ranching. However, the high costs of initial inputs (cages. breeding stocks), the slow returns and the limited technical expertise has hampered the adoption of back-yard grasscutter farming by rural households and the development of large scale commercial ventures. The market for both fresh and smoked grasscutter meat is effectively unlimited and there is therefore the need to invest in research to develop cheaper ways of production and extension services to enable the transfer of appropriate technologies to small scale farmers.
Among the wild rodents, the grasscutter, or cane rat or cane cutter is the most preferred. Grasscutter is a wild hystricomorphic rodent widely distributed in the African sub-region and exploited in most areas as a source of animal protein. Being the most preferred and most expensive meat in West Africa including Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Ghana and Cote d’ voire, it contributes to both local and export earning of most West African Countries and is therefore hunted aggressively. Unfortunately its collection from the wild is attended by destruction of the environment through the setting of bush fires by hunters. To alleviate this problem, attempts are being made in the sub-region to domesticate the grasscutter and make it more readily available, gain economic benefit and also reduce the environmental destruction that accompanies its collection from the wild.
The grasscutter, variously known as the marsh cane-rat, ground hog and in francophone West Africa, the aulacode or incorrectly, the agouti is a rodent but not a rat proper, since it belongs to the Hystricomorpha (porcupine family). This rodent subclass embraces similar species in both the old and new world, species which were originally classified according to the differentiation of the masticatory musculature. Due to their spatial separation, a common origin has often been contested and the hystricomorphic rodents of the new world have now been classified as Caviomorpha (guinea pig relatives). Hystricomorpha are correctly comprised of hystricidae (family of porcupines), Bathyergidae (family of sand-diggers), Thryonomydae (family of grass-cutters) and Petromuridae (family of African rock-rats) with the Phiomydis (African tertiary) as the common tribe group. Grasscutters are found only in Africa, where they are represented by a single genus, Thryonomys (identical with Aulacodes). Most of the species, subspecies or breeds described can be allied to one of the two following groups of species: Thryonomys swinderianus the larger grasscutter and Thryonomys gregorianus, the lesser grasscutter.
The feasibility reports on grasscutter farming ventures indicate that the long term profitability is comparable to that of poultry farming and higher than cattle ranching. However, the high costs of initial inputs (cages. breeding stocks), the slow returns and the limited technical expertise has hampered the adoption of back-yard grasscutter farming by rural households and the development of large scale commercial ventures. The market for both fresh and smoked grasscutter meat is effectively unlimited and there is therefore the need to invest in research to develop cheaper ways of production and extension services to enable the transfer of appropriate technologies to small scale farmers.