22nd September, 2010
Grasscutter rearing can make you become gainfully employed. The farming can be started with as low as N45,000 according to Mr. Arinze Onebunne, an expert in grasscutter rearing.
Onebunne owns Jovana Farms whose speciality is training, setting up grasscutter farms and sales. Grasscutter farming is one of the new attractive areas in job creation in Nigeria today. It is a great money-spinning business that can provide job opportunities for the young and old, the educated or uneducated. If you want to be your own boss and you are ready to work hard and get rich, grasscutter farming is for you†he advised.
He emphasized that “if all hands are on deck, over a million jobs can be created in grasscutter sector alone but Nigerians preference for white collar jobs led to the neglect of this lucrative agricultural enterprise.”
I started rearing grasscutter 15 years ago. The business does not require millions of naira to execute. It can be started with just one family of grasscutter normally called a colony which is sold for N40,000. A colony comprises one male and four females. They are reared in a cage which can be constructed at a cost of N5,000 by any roadside carpenter. Therefore, with N45,000, you are already in good business. It is advisable to buy them when they are four months old, which is the breeding stage. Grasscutter is odourless unlike fowls, rabbits, etc. Therefore, the cage can be placed anywhere in the compound or even in the kitchen. In terms of feeding, it is not like fish farming or poultry farming, because grasscutter feed on grass.
In terms of yield, he explained, one female grasscutter can give birth to as many as five to eight litters (babies) at once. I have even witness 12 at once on my farm. So instead of remaining unemployed, even an undergraduate can take a soft loan from a bank, friend or family member and in a few months be able to pay back the loan and still remain in business. For instance, if you start rearing now, in about four months, they will start having litters because they mature for birth at eight months.
And if you do not have enough space for expansion, you can sell the babies, at the end of the day the four females give you five litters each, you have 20 litters. Invariably, you only have to be patient for about eight months. And if they carry their babies for about five months, you can start cross-breeding them for stronger breeds and in eight months, you start making profit. Grasscutter as meat is also high in demand. It already comes to mind when people think of bush meat. Though for now, the price maybe on the high side, the nutritional value is enormous. It is white meat and has low or no cholesterols and doctors highly recommend it for people with heart problems.
“Regrettably, one major challenge in grasscutter rearing is the technicalities involved. This is why we organize seminars and workshops all around the nation. We recommend that people come for proper training before going into the business. This is necessary because I have witnessed instances where people start without proper training, only to shut down when faced with technical challenges. But with proper training these challenges can be avoided. With some training and adequate guidance, it can turn money spinner,” he explained.
Onebunne said, when he started grasscutter business 15 years ago, he went as far as Gabon to get the initial stock. Today people do not need to look that far. Grasscutters are readily available for supply now. “In addition, we have developed special breeds through research. We have also developed them according to their species and complied their data. All these we teach in our seminars and workshops,” he added.
For more information please contact the Managing Consultant/CEO of Javana Farms, Prince Arinze Onebunne on 08033262808, 08029373076. E-mail: [email protected]. Website: www.jovanafarm.com.
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