I came to know about THE THY CONSULTING via the web.I thought it was one of those ficticious claims but it was not.
The skill acquisition on snail and grasscutter farming was informative,practical and life changing.
I was given what I needed and shown what I needed to see.
Thank you.
Pastor Okey F N, Gambia.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Grasscutter Project
The Grasscutter Project was created after RESPECT Ghana decided it wanted to implement more activities to teach certain agricultural techniques to young refugees at the Buduburam Refugee Camp. It proved to be the perfect scenario for this case, since it would not only teach valuable lessons to the youngsters, but also had the potential to become a small income generating activity.
The grasscutter farm could be incorporated into the existing Sustainable Agriculture Project developed by RESPECT Ghana, complementing this larger effort and helping create financial returns that could later be used to support the students involved in the project.
The grasscutter has a short tail, small ears, and a stocky body. They are more closely related to porcupines than to common rats or mice, weighing around 9 kg (about 19.8 pounds) and measuring up to 60 cm (about 2 feet).
The grasscutter is a small wild animal, cheaper to produce than most other traditional livestock and whose meat is more valuable and appreciated by the local population.
People in the region have traditionally captured wild grasscutters and raised them at home for personal consumption. Aware of the potential of a more widespread domestic creation of the animal, some countries are already encouraging farmers to raise grasscutters as backyard livestock.
The demand for grasscutter meat is large in the region, and it is not currently being met. Markets for it already exist over much of Africa, and it often sells for more than chicken, beef, pork or lamb. It is the preferred choice in many countries such as Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
With the financial help of Joel Johnson, a contributor in California, United States of America (USA), RESPECT Ghana was able to build a cage and obtain two animals to start the farm. Made of wires and planks, the cage can host about twelve animals. The involved parties had to overcome a series of initial challenges to implement the project.
"We had enough knowledge about the theoretical aspects of this initiative, but very limited knowledge of the practical aspects," explains Mr. Anthony Macedo Barlee, Programs Coordinator for RESPECT Ghana.
Mr. Barlee and his team have learned new things in implementing the project, from assembling the materials needed for constructing the animal's cage to transporting the animals from the Animal Research Station in Pokuase-Amansama to Buduburam - a three-hour drive.
The project is managed by the Farm Manager of RESPECT Ghana, Mr. Alfred Kayee, and supervised by Mr.Barlee. Volunteers and students also contribute daily to the project, learning about the animals and what it takes to keep them well and ready to reproduce. Once the animals start to reproduce, in a few months, more people will likely get involved with the farm.
So far, the project is moving smoothly, and is being considered as one of the potential productive initiatives of RESPECT Ghana. As soon as more animals are born and the production is well established, the meat products from the farm will start being sold to the camp residents. Ultimately, RESPECT Ghana hopes to be able to extend the project to other farms, thus being able to include more people and even other regions in the initiative.
Source: http://respectrefugees.org/ezine/2006/ezine20060519_project.shtml
The grasscutter farm could be incorporated into the existing Sustainable Agriculture Project developed by RESPECT Ghana, complementing this larger effort and helping create financial returns that could later be used to support the students involved in the project.
The grasscutter has a short tail, small ears, and a stocky body. They are more closely related to porcupines than to common rats or mice, weighing around 9 kg (about 19.8 pounds) and measuring up to 60 cm (about 2 feet).
The grasscutter is a small wild animal, cheaper to produce than most other traditional livestock and whose meat is more valuable and appreciated by the local population.
People in the region have traditionally captured wild grasscutters and raised them at home for personal consumption. Aware of the potential of a more widespread domestic creation of the animal, some countries are already encouraging farmers to raise grasscutters as backyard livestock.
The demand for grasscutter meat is large in the region, and it is not currently being met. Markets for it already exist over much of Africa, and it often sells for more than chicken, beef, pork or lamb. It is the preferred choice in many countries such as Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
With the financial help of Joel Johnson, a contributor in California, United States of America (USA), RESPECT Ghana was able to build a cage and obtain two animals to start the farm. Made of wires and planks, the cage can host about twelve animals. The involved parties had to overcome a series of initial challenges to implement the project.
"We had enough knowledge about the theoretical aspects of this initiative, but very limited knowledge of the practical aspects," explains Mr. Anthony Macedo Barlee, Programs Coordinator for RESPECT Ghana.
Mr. Barlee and his team have learned new things in implementing the project, from assembling the materials needed for constructing the animal's cage to transporting the animals from the Animal Research Station in Pokuase-Amansama to Buduburam - a three-hour drive.
The project is managed by the Farm Manager of RESPECT Ghana, Mr. Alfred Kayee, and supervised by Mr.Barlee. Volunteers and students also contribute daily to the project, learning about the animals and what it takes to keep them well and ready to reproduce. Once the animals start to reproduce, in a few months, more people will likely get involved with the farm.
So far, the project is moving smoothly, and is being considered as one of the potential productive initiatives of RESPECT Ghana. As soon as more animals are born and the production is well established, the meat products from the farm will start being sold to the camp residents. Ultimately, RESPECT Ghana hopes to be able to extend the project to other farms, thus being able to include more people and even other regions in the initiative.
Source: http://respectrefugees.org/ezine/2006/ezine20060519_project.shtml
Grasscutter rearing - Ghana's new job opportunity
Joseph Prempeh and Eli Kumatse: Farmer and Director at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana
Summary:
Grasscutters, or cane rats, are Africa's second largest rodent, after the porcupine. Their meat is a rich source of protein, and they are a popular food in many African countries. Up till now, grasscutters have generally been hunted in the wild, but rearing them is very straightforward. They are susceptible to few disease or health problems and can be easily maintained on a wide variety of foods. In Ghana, the agricultural ministry is now encouraging grasscutter rearing as an income-generating activity for young farmers like Joseph Prempeh. Joseph explains what is involved, and ministry director Eli Kumatse explains why grasscutter rearing is good for the environment as well as the young farmers.
Suggested introduction:
What's your favourite meat? Beef, chicken, or maybe goat? In Ghana, the answer is just as likely to be grasscutter. Africa's second largest rodent, after the porcupine, has excellent, protein-rich meat which is popular with nearly all the tribes in Ghana, as well as in many other countries.
Up to now, most grasscutters have been hunted in the wild, but the burning of forests and use of poison by hunters, have put both the environment and human health at risk. Recently, however, the government in Ghana has started to encourage young people to rear grasscutters as a potentially valuable source of income. From the outskirts of Kumasi, in central Ghana, Kofi Adu Domfeh reports.
Tape in:I meet Joseph Prempeh...Tape out:...From Ghana, Kofi Adu Domfeh reporting.Duration:5’03” Closing Announcement:
Grasscutter rearing, one example of non-traditional farming which could be big business for Ghanaian farmers.
Contact:
http://www.knust.edu.gh/cbud/grasscutter.htm
Summary:
Grasscutters, or cane rats, are Africa's second largest rodent, after the porcupine. Their meat is a rich source of protein, and they are a popular food in many African countries. Up till now, grasscutters have generally been hunted in the wild, but rearing them is very straightforward. They are susceptible to few disease or health problems and can be easily maintained on a wide variety of foods. In Ghana, the agricultural ministry is now encouraging grasscutter rearing as an income-generating activity for young farmers like Joseph Prempeh. Joseph explains what is involved, and ministry director Eli Kumatse explains why grasscutter rearing is good for the environment as well as the young farmers.
Suggested introduction:
What's your favourite meat? Beef, chicken, or maybe goat? In Ghana, the answer is just as likely to be grasscutter. Africa's second largest rodent, after the porcupine, has excellent, protein-rich meat which is popular with nearly all the tribes in Ghana, as well as in many other countries.
Up to now, most grasscutters have been hunted in the wild, but the burning of forests and use of poison by hunters, have put both the environment and human health at risk. Recently, however, the government in Ghana has started to encourage young people to rear grasscutters as a potentially valuable source of income. From the outskirts of Kumasi, in central Ghana, Kofi Adu Domfeh reports.
Tape in:I meet Joseph Prempeh...Tape out:...From Ghana, Kofi Adu Domfeh reporting.Duration:5’03” Closing Announcement:
Grasscutter rearing, one example of non-traditional farming which could be big business for Ghanaian farmers.
Contact:
http://www.knust.edu.gh/cbud/grasscutter.htm
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Grasscutter domestication
The grasscutter (Cane-rat) is a hystricomorph rodent endemic to Africa. The animal occurs in savannah grasslands, forest clearings, cultivated lands and secondary forests, where it is very common and is heavily hunted as a food resource in many areas on the continent. Grasscutters are herbivorous, their favourite food being savannah grasses (Asibey, 1974b). In captivity, they will also take sugar cane, corn stalks and cassava peelings. The animal is a wasteful feeder, cutting the grass at a characteristic angle with its very powerful incisors to eat the more nutritious, succulent inter-nodes, leaving behind scattered pieces of stem on the feeding grounds. This characteristic feeding behaviour is exploited by hunters who look for the feeding sites, an indication of where the animals were active the previous night and concentrate hunting efforts in such areas. The animal does not burrow? but may shelter in hollows and burrows made by other animals. This means enclosures for captive rearing can be fenced in by mud walls. The grasscutter has a long gestation period, about five months, a relatively small litter size, maximum of four in the wild but up to twelve has been recorded in captivity. The young are born with their eyes open and the coat fully developed and are able to follow the mother immediately after birth. Females can be re-fertilised after parturition if paired with the male, thus two litters are possible in a year. Average weight of wild grasscutters is 4 - 5kg, males can reach up to 10 kg. Captive grasscutters can be kept in cages or boxes but are best kept in open areas enclosed within mud walls or other fencing material where males and females can be kept together. Depending on the size of cages used, stocking rates of one male to five females are possible. Pregnant females must be separated at full term since cannibalism of males on the newly born young ones is common.
Within the West African sub-region, grasscutter is the favourite bushmeat species and accounts for the greater proportion of bushmeat sold in markets. In most of the countries within the sub-region, grasscutter meat fetches higher prices than that of beef. The popularity of grasscutter meat led to the choice of the animal as the subject of several studies during the early 1970s, aimed at domesticating the species for large scale farming and production of the meat for human consumption.
Ewer's studies in Ghana in the 1970s demonstrated that the animal could be kept in captivity (Asibey, pers. com.). Her work was followed by studies on several aspects of the biology and ecology of the animal in Ghana (Asibey, 1974b; Ntiamoa-Baidu, 1980) and in Nigeria (Ajayi, 1971). In addition to the field studies on feeding and reproductive ecology, Asibey also worked directly with farmers. Interested farmers were provided with a starting stock of a male and a female grasscutters (mostly captured from the wild) and a cage. The performance of the animals was monitored by trained extension workers. The idea was that the research findings could be applied directly by farmers and that both rural and urban households could rear grasscutters in their back-yard to provide meat to feed the family The studies confirmed the feasibility of rearing the grasscutter in captivity and demonstrated that its litter size could be increased with good feeding. However, the initial interest and efforts put into the project did not result in the establishment of any large scale, grasscutter farms and only a few people continued with the idea of back-yard grasscutter farming. The waning support could be attributed mainly to the relatively large initial capital investment required, the lack of readily available breeding stock, problems of feed during the dry season and the many unresolved and poorly understood issues associated with diseases in captive grasscutters.
More recently, a major research programme on grasscutters has been initiated in Benin under the Project Benino - Allemand d'Aulacodiculture (PBAA). The aim of the project is to select improved grasscutter stocks genetically adapted to life in captivity and to promote the rearing of the animal in rural and sub-urban environments (Baptist and Mensah, 1986; Mensah, 1991). The research focused on the ethology of the animal, feed, pathology and reproduction as well as on the technical feasibility of farming grasscutters at the level of small scale farmers.
Feasibility reports on grasscutter farming ventures indicate that the long term profitability is comparable to that of poultry farming and higher than cattle ranching (Tutu e' al., 199(i). 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.
Source: http://www.fao.org/docrep/W7540E/w7540e0h.htm
Within the West African sub-region, grasscutter is the favourite bushmeat species and accounts for the greater proportion of bushmeat sold in markets. In most of the countries within the sub-region, grasscutter meat fetches higher prices than that of beef. The popularity of grasscutter meat led to the choice of the animal as the subject of several studies during the early 1970s, aimed at domesticating the species for large scale farming and production of the meat for human consumption.
Ewer's studies in Ghana in the 1970s demonstrated that the animal could be kept in captivity (Asibey, pers. com.). Her work was followed by studies on several aspects of the biology and ecology of the animal in Ghana (Asibey, 1974b; Ntiamoa-Baidu, 1980) and in Nigeria (Ajayi, 1971). In addition to the field studies on feeding and reproductive ecology, Asibey also worked directly with farmers. Interested farmers were provided with a starting stock of a male and a female grasscutters (mostly captured from the wild) and a cage. The performance of the animals was monitored by trained extension workers. The idea was that the research findings could be applied directly by farmers and that both rural and urban households could rear grasscutters in their back-yard to provide meat to feed the family The studies confirmed the feasibility of rearing the grasscutter in captivity and demonstrated that its litter size could be increased with good feeding. However, the initial interest and efforts put into the project did not result in the establishment of any large scale, grasscutter farms and only a few people continued with the idea of back-yard grasscutter farming. The waning support could be attributed mainly to the relatively large initial capital investment required, the lack of readily available breeding stock, problems of feed during the dry season and the many unresolved and poorly understood issues associated with diseases in captive grasscutters.
More recently, a major research programme on grasscutters has been initiated in Benin under the Project Benino - Allemand d'Aulacodiculture (PBAA). The aim of the project is to select improved grasscutter stocks genetically adapted to life in captivity and to promote the rearing of the animal in rural and sub-urban environments (Baptist and Mensah, 1986; Mensah, 1991). The research focused on the ethology of the animal, feed, pathology and reproduction as well as on the technical feasibility of farming grasscutters at the level of small scale farmers.
Feasibility reports on grasscutter farming ventures indicate that the long term profitability is comparable to that of poultry farming and higher than cattle ranching (Tutu e' al., 199(i). 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.
Source: http://www.fao.org/docrep/W7540E/w7540e0h.htm
Thursday, October 29, 2009
I intend embark on snail and grasscutter farming soon
Thanks, for your information,I intend embark on it soon(ie snail and grasscutter farming),I dont have time to come and see you, but with my background, and your assistance,I hope to joint you in the business,
Thanks,Ma salam,
ADETONA A
Thanks,Ma salam,
ADETONA A
Snail and Grasscutter farming are two different projects
You are really doing a wonderful work.I will be coming very soon for the practical training,but something is confusing me,is it going both snail and grasscutter training or they are separate.I really love your articles which has really made me very interested in the two farming
Prosper.
Answer:
They are two different projects.See detail at our website: http://www.thethyconsulting.com or call: 08023050835 or 07033632285.
Thanks.
Ismail AbdulAzeez.
http://www.thethyconsulting.com
Prosper.
Answer:
They are two different projects.See detail at our website: http://www.thethyconsulting.com or call: 08023050835 or 07033632285.
Thanks.
Ismail AbdulAzeez.
http://www.thethyconsulting.com
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Thanks for your articles on snail and grasscutter farms
Thanks for your articles on snail and grasscutter farms. I want to start snail farm but my problem is where to get a good breed of Achatina achatina.If you have them contact me through my email.I will like to know their cost.
Vincent Eboh.
Answer:
You can get all species of snails at our farm, THE THY SNAIL & GRASSCUTTER FARMS,4,Ismail AbdulAzeez Street,Singer Bus Stop,Ewupe-Ijaniye,Sango Ota,Ogun State.Tel: 08023050835 or 07033632285.
Vincent Eboh.
Answer:
You can get all species of snails at our farm, THE THY SNAIL & GRASSCUTTER FARMS,4,Ismail AbdulAzeez Street,Singer Bus Stop,Ewupe-Ijaniye,Sango Ota,Ogun State.Tel: 08023050835 or 07033632285.
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