By Amaka Agwuegbo

The rising unemployment rate can be curtailed if Nigeria and Nigerians are willing to go back to farming, which was the country’s mainstay prior to the discovery of oil in 1956 at Oloibiri, Bayelsa State.

With more Nigerians daily going out of jobs than those with jobs, many can earn part-time or full-time incomes from grasscutter farming in small garden plots or at the back of the house.

The Managing Consultant/CEO, Jovana Farms, Prince Arinze Onebunne, said one of the solutions to help ease the problem of unemployment is for government to create the enabling environment for job seekers to set up grasscutter businesses, which requires very little capital.

With 15 years grasscutter farming experience, Onebunne has developed the skills for identifying the right species, right wards, grouping them according to their species and compiling their data.

“I started rearing grasscutters 15 years ago and had to go as far as Gabon to buy breeding stock because Nigerians were not into grasscutter farming at that time.

“Going into this business does not require millions of naira since it can be started with N50,000 or more, depending on the scale you want to start from.”

Also known as ‘bush meat’, grasscutter is the second biggest wild rodent after the porcupine in Africa. About 80,000 tons of grasscutter meat is consumed yearly, of which only 0.2 per cent is provided by domesticated grasscutters. Its meat is highly favoured and is preferred in West Africa due to its high protein, low fat and cholesterol content.

So profitable is the grasscutter farming that Onebunne has now become a consultant to those who want to be knowledgeable about the business.

“The return on investment is high and fast as people have now come to appreciate the monetary and nutritional values associated with grasscutters that they want to engage in it.

“Patronage is equally very high as we have constant demands from eateries, beer palours, hotels, and the likes. As a result of the high demand for grasscutters, Jovana Farms organizes training seminars for those who want to start it because there are no jobs and we can’t expect government to create jobs for everyone. So, it is high time people looked inwards to boost their incomes.”

Onebunne says all that is needed to start a small-scale grasscutter farm is N45,000 for a colony of grasscutters, N5,000 for the construction of cages in which they will be reared in and grass with which to feed them.

“It is advisable to buy them at four months old, which is the breeding stock stage. The cages can occupy any available space in your house, store or even the kitchen, so you don’t necessarily need to buy a land for the business. Also, you don’t have to spend money to feed them because they feed on grass.”

Pointing out that grasscutters are the cheapest and fastest livestocks to rear because one female grasscutter can give birth to 5 to 8 litters (babies) at once.

“When they are bought at 4 months, they start having babies at 8 months, which can either be sold or reared.”

Onebunne listed the major challenges to include difficulty in getting the right breeding stock and technicalities in breeding them.

“The challenge of technicalities means that people need to go for adequate training before venturing into the business so as to avoid running into stormy waters.”

To help present and would-be grasscutter farmers avoid stormy waters, Jovana Farms organizes practical trainings for people to learn the nitty gritty of the business.

“Most potential farmers who have interest in grasscutter farming are usually inhibited by distance from attending our practical training programs in Lagos, hence we decided to spread our practical seminars across major cities in Nigeria.

“Presently, we hold our practical seminars in Abuja, Asaba, Enugu and Port Harcourt with the hope of expanding to other major cities soonest. The primary objective is to bring this golden opportunity to the door step of every Nigerian as a very sure and potent means of conquering poverty and solving the rising unemployment problem in Nigeria.”