To start with, Grasscutter farming is a very lucrative business venture, unknown to

many. The meat from grasscutter is one of those in high demand to the markets of
west-Africa. It serves a wide variety of people and a wide range of purposes. On a
good day, a mature Grasscutter in the market sells for between N4,000 to N5,500; so
if you had say five hundred Grasscutters, you might as well be looking at earning
between N2 million and N3 million annually.

The Grasscutter has a rapid reproduction cycle that repeats itself once a year. After
gestation, a mature female would normally carry a pregnancy for a period of
approximately five months. At birth-time, she usually gives forth between 4 and 7
grasscutters – sometimes, it could be up to ten – and she tows this route twice
every year. This means that a single female could yield between 8 and 14 young
grasscutters every year, and this number could increase to 20.

The grasscutter’s growth rate is very swift, and it stands as one of Africa’s largest
rodents. Its average body length is between 45 and 60 centimeters, while the height
while standing reaches between 25 and 30 centimeters. A matured male would
weigh around 4.5kg, while a female would weigh around 3.5kg. A fully matured male
would be around the size of a 9-inch construction block.

Grasscutter meat is well consumed over the course of the year, but there is an
increasing concern over its availability on demand. This is because grasscutters are
quite difficult to find, and all the grasscutter meat in the markets comes from
painstaking hunting episodes by local hunters.

See also  Cocoa Farming and Processing Business Plan in Nigeria

Where to Begin

Colonies: Grasscutters maintain colonies, so you most likely will not find two grown
males living together. You could start off with one male and a few females grouped
together. An ideal colony should have one male and not more than four females. One
farmer may decide to start off with one or two colonies; so considering your
capacity, you can determine the number of colonies you want to start out with.

Breeding: Grasscutters are reared exclusively for the meat; but if it must be lucrative
in the market, then the animal must be given sufficient attention and allowed to grow
properly. To realize this, the farmer must stress on the quality of the chosen breeding
stock. Every colony must have one very healthy male. The males are the major
players in the reproduction process. A healthy male are guarantees a healthy stock.
While selecting the male, diligently scrutinize it. Consider its wellbeing – the weight
gain is a good pointer to ascertaining the health status of the male grasscutter.

Well, even the female must be in good condition. So if you want the best stock,
ensure that both the male and female grasscutters selected for breeding are in
perfect condition. A good male and a sickly female will most likely yield offspring
that are poor in health, performance and market value – and vice versa.

Construction of Grasscutter House: In designing your set-up for the grasscutters,

ensure that they have an eating place, a separate place for sleeping, and probably
another place for general play. They can breed either in properly-built cages or
specially-designed houses. They are aware and responsive to good habitat. The ideal
dimension for each colony should be a length of 180cm, width of 60cm and height of
45cm. You should use this dimensions in building your cage, and every colony must
be separated from others. If your provision is that of a house or something similar,
ensure that it is designed in such a way as to provide separate sleeping and eating
arenas. Furthermore, the production zone must be kept in perfect conditions, so as
to keep the animals from excess temperature and moisture.

See also  Feasibility Study on Chin Chin Production in Nigeria

The major enemies grasscutters have are Soldier ants and Snakes; so you must
ensure that their cages/pens are properly secured. To keep them from ants’ attack,
you can pour black engine oil all around their houses/pens, most especially at night
times during the rainy season. You must also put in place a defense mechanism to
deter human thieves.

You should also cover the base of the pen/cage/house with dry, soft grasses to give
them that cushioned playground effect, and also to keep their feet from getting hurt.

Feeding Grasscutters are herbivores. Their natural habitat is in the bushes because
they find their natural foods there. Their major delicacy is elephant grass or Napier
grass, but they could also be fed with Gamba grass, Congo grass, Guinea grass, and
even Sugar cane – which several farmers use for their feeding. Experts say that
hygiene and proper feeding are the two main determining factors for successful and
lucrative Grasscutter farming. Males can be ‘fattened’ with Broiler’s finisher or
Broiler’s starter feed to allow them gain weight and increase market value within a
short period.

Other things that could be used in feeding the animal include Gliricidia sepium,
leguminous plants like Stylo (Stylosanthes gracilis) and Pueraria phaseoloides. They
also love the roots and pitch of oil palms, coconut palms, the bark of the
anacardium, plantain, pineapple, mango, and etcetera. Crops like rice, corn,
groundnut, grain legume, sweet potato, cassava tubers, and etcetera can also be
used as food; as well as prepared concentrates like pellets, and other materials like
wheat bran, soya, corn bran, oilseed, brewer’s yeast, cottonseed cakes, maize cobs,
and etcetera.

Grasscutters do not like cold environments; so you must ensure that their cages or
pens are not too hot and not too cold. The suitable temperature for them is just
about the same for humans.

Weaning Time: With an optimized feeding regimen, the grasscutter offspring can be

weaned from between 4 to 8 weeks. However, as a family unit, they can stay with
their mother for up to four months. The offspring can be taken from the mother
between 5 and 7 months and grouped into a colony with a healthy male for the
purpose of mating. Yes, weaned grasscutters of between 7 to 8 months old can be
copulated. In fact, indeterminate copulation is expected to have occurred when the
weaned male is aged around 7 months, and the weaned female is aged around 8
months. The approximate mating period is around 140 days; but if no sign of
pregnancy is in place after 160 days of separation from the male, the female should
be returned to the male for correct mating. There should always be an extra male
that can carry out that function, if necessary.

See also  Paint Production Business Plan in Nigeria

The Marketplace: As stated earlier, the market is very wide. Grasscutter meat is
loved and consumed by a large percentage of people across Nigeria and indeed
Africa. Mega-eateries use it to make expensive dishes.

The whole meat of a mature grasscutter full meat usually costs around N4,500 in the
market, so it is always is in top demand in the markets. Many city dwellers do not
have access to the meat due to its scarcity, as even the most bulky amounts of
grasscutter meat captured and processed for selling get exhausted within a few
days. To meet the demand of bush meat in West Africa today, it would take the
combined effort of thousands of farmers and hunters!

Grasscutter is one animal that has a rapid reproduction cycle. The female is eligible for
copulation as early as from 7months after birth, and mated females give birth twice a year.
Here’s the permutation: if you had 100 females producing 4-7 or 10 grasscutters twice a
year, it means that after just twelve months, you should have something in the region of 900-
1,200 or more grasscutters on your farm. Such a number alone will yield a minimum of 5
million naira when they are due for marketing.
INITIAL START-UP CAPITAL (NAIRA VALUE)
1 Colony = 5 grasscutters (1 male & 4 females)  =  ₦55,000
5 Colonies = 25 grasscutters = ₦275,000
Cage/Housing =  ₦80,000 for 5 colonies
Feeding Cost = ₦40,000 per year
TOTAL = ₦395,000
EXPECTED INCOME (NAIRA VALUE)
1 female gives birth to an average of 4 to 10 grasscutters within 6 months.
5 females will give you an average of 20 to 50 grasscutters within 6 months.
20 grasscutters x 5 colonies = 100 grasscutters within 6 months.
In 1 year, you will be expecting at least 200 grasscutters.
The grasscutters weigh between 6 to 10kg at maturity.
Assuming you sell each for ₦7,000;
₦7,000 x 200 =  ₦1,400, 000.

CHALLENGES OF GRASSCUTTER FARMING

The major challenges of grasscutters are the technicalities involved in running a grasscutter
farm and also the danger of pests and diseases.

CONCLUSION
Grasscutter farming is one of the often-overlooked agribusinesses that turn in high revenues.
With only about o.2% grown domestically out of about 80,000 tonnes of grasscutters
consumed yearly in Nigeria, the opportunities for scale exceeds most farmers’ expectations.
If you’re unsure of an agribusiness to venture into, and you want something odorless, less
expensive to run, and still highly profitable, grasscutter farming is a great bet for you

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN GRASSCUTTER FARMING AROUND THE

WORLD
With about 80,000 tons of grasscutter meat consumed annually in Nigeria, only 0.2 % of
these lot are domesticated grasscutters. Here are two core opportunities in grasscutter
farming:

1). SOURCE OF MEAT:

Grasscutters are a great source of meat for many households in sub-Saharan Africa. The
nutritious and scarce nature of their meats doesn’t just serve as a source of protein to
complement Africa’s popular starch dinners but also makes people place high values on
them, thus raising their costs in the market.
Since grasscutter meats are not regular market commodities that can be spotted easily, their
scarcity drives their prices high; especially in Latin America and Asia, where grasscutter
meat if available, are highly favored over most types of meats, due to its high protein, low fat,
and low cholesterol content.
This makes the market demand for the grasscutter meats ultimately far exceed its supply.

2). MEDICAL PURPOSES:

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.
The consumption of grasscutter meat also has great health benefits for hypertensive patients.

BENEFITS OF GRASSCUTTER FARMING
1). Source Of Income And Employment.
2). Great Source Of Protein.
3). Cheaper to run than poultry, fish, or pig farming.
4). Medicinal Uses.
5). Feeding Them Is Extremely Cheap (can be grass only).
6). It can be reared at home.
7). They sell for great prices.
8). More Demand Than Available Supply.
9). They Can Be Pets.

THE SUITABLE SPECIES FOR GRASSCUTTER FARMING

1). THRYONOMYS SWINDERIANUS (T.S): 
The Thryonomys Swinderianus, also called the Greater Cane Rat, are the most popular types
of grasscutters reared in West Africa, especially Nigeria and Ghana. They are usually large
and weigh an average of 8.6kg per animal. These grasscutters are of two strains. The smaller
strains are found in the forest zone, while the larger strains are usually found in the savannah
zones and are lighter in color.
They live in small groups led by a male, make nests from grasses or burrow underground, are
nocturnal, and can live for more than four years. They belong to a small family of the African
hystricognath rodents.

ALSO READ:   President Buhari Condems the Terrorist Killing of Lawan Andimi

2). THRYONOMYS GREGORIANUS (T.G.): 

The Thryonomys Gregorianus, also known as the Lesser Cane Rat, is a species of rodents in
the family Thryonomyidae. These grasscutters are smaller than the Thryonomys
Swinderianus and usually weigh about 7.5 kg. They are mostly found and reared in Central
and East African countries like Cameroon, Chad, Congo, and the likes.
These grasscutters usually have bristle-like coarse hair that lies flat against their body. They
have small ears almost hidden in their furs, long feet with functioning toes, strong claws, and
bare palms. Their backs and sides are usually yellowish or grayish-white, and their tails have
few bristles, scales, is brown above, and white below.
Their males are mostly larger than their females.

HOW TO SETUP YOUR GRASSCUTTER FARM

1). GRASSCUTTER CAGE OR PEN: 
The grasscutter pen or house has to be built to be adequately spacious. In setting it up, you
must separate the region they sleep from the region they carry out any other form of activity.
This is especially important because grasscutters hate to sleep where they feed.
When placing grasscutters in their pens, you should ensure that each colony would be about 1
male to 4 to 6 females. Two fully grown males cannot live together and would fight until one
is dead. But by placing a colony of 1 male to about 4 females in a cage, you can be assured
that they’d live peacefully and have a rich reproduction rate.
In constructing your grasscutter cages, ensure it adheres to a close dimension of 180cm in
length, 60cm in width, and 45cm in height. They should all contain separate grasscutter
colonies and be built in such a way that the temperature remains stable at all times. The cage
should also keep the colonies secure from potential pests like snakes, soldier ants, and
humans. You can ensure ants have no access by pouring engine oils around their pens, and
surrounding areas; especially during the rainy season.

2). CHOOSING A BREED: 

In choosing the grasscutter breed you want to rear, it’s important you select one that’s most
demanded in your country, or that is accepted in the regions you intend to ship out to. The
Thryonomys Swinderianus, for instance, are most popular in West Africa, while the
Thryonomys Gregorianus are most popular in Central and East Africa.
Once you’ve determined what breed you intend to rear, you can purchase 4 healthy females
and 1 large and healthy male for a start to make one colony. The healthy state of your
grasscutters is crucial to aid rapid reproduction. Since fertility is the most important thing in
rearing animals, make sure you can purchase the most healthy grasscutters you can find.
If you’re working with a very large budget, you can purchase a lot of colonies to start off
with.

ALSO READ:   [MUSIC] DJ Pee Ft. Chinko Ekun & Tino Tipsy – LIGHT

3). FEEDING THE GRASSCUTTERS: 

Feeding your grasscutters is a lot cheaper than any other farm animal. Since they’re
herbivorous animals, the bulk of their diet lies majorly on the grass. The most common
grasses they’re fed with are Napier grass or Elephant grass. They could also be fed Congo
grass, Guinea grass, groundnut, maize, cassava, sweet potato, rice, legumes, plantain,
pawpaw, pineapple, roots of oil & coconut palms, and most importantly, sugar cane.
By constantly feeding your grasscutters with rich (healthy) meals at all intervals, they can
gain weight quickly and reach market size within a short time.
The cane rats usually prefer to drink liquid with artificial tastes, e.g palm wine (which is
largely why they destroy oil palm plantations). In a privately grown setting, they can be fed
water that has little additives in it.
For grasscutters in the weaning stage, they can stay with their mothers between four to eight
weeks. But when they’re in the wild or moving together as a family, they can all be with their
mothers for up to four months. By the time they’re about seven to eight months old, they can
be separated from their mothers and placed with the mature opposite sex, for mating to occur.
The male grasscutters reach their mating stage at the age of seven months, while the females
reaching their mating stage when they’re about eight months old. The mating period should
last for 140 days and should be restarted with different males if, after 160 days, the female
grasscutters show no signs of pregnancy.
Grasscutters are generally great for rearing because of their fast reproduction rate which
begins about seven months after birth and can be about 4 to 10 babies per reproduction cycle,
which usually happens two times in a year. With their market price going for as high as 7,000
Naira for each, 10 females could give birth to 200 grasscutters in a year, which would amount
to about ₦1,400,000.