THE Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Consultant of JOVANA Farms, Prince Arinze Onebunne, in this interview, says that grasscutter farming can curb unemployment and alleviate poverty in the country. Onebunne has been spreading this message to idle Nigerian youths through seminars and workshops, which he has so far organised in 30 of the 36 states of the federation.How I startedAs with many other investments, my first attempt at grasscutter farming was filled with challenges. I received a lot of advice from many people around me then, some encouraging; some discouraging me, saying livestock farming was full of risks. Some advised me to go into importation business instead but I remained focused because I wanted to create a job for myself and for other people.The businessI started by getting my breeding stock from Gabon through a friend, who lives in that country. Initially, I was doing it as a hobby and before long, the whole place was filled with grasscutters. We kept them in a wooden cage. That is why I tell people that you need very little capital to start the business.You can build a cage with about N7,000 and any roadside carpenter can do it. The breeding stock of one male and four females is sold for N45,000 even though you can get the local breed for N35,000. The cross-breed is N45,000 and the cost depends on the age, weight and species.Starting the businessThe business is not capital intensive, with as little as N52,000, one can conveniently start the business but let me warn here that you also need to go for training. It is very important.High returns on investmentIt is a profitable business as returns on investment is high. It is the only livestock farming where you won't need to spend much on feed.If you are talking about pig farming, you must buy food for pigs, if it is fish, rabbit, poultry it is the same thing, but for grasscutter farming, if you are not lazy and proud, the only thing you need to do is to buy cutlass and rainboots and now look for the elephant grass to cut for them. Anywhere you go to get this, it is free.Apart from grass, they also eat cassava and we know that cassava is the cheapest carbohydrate you can think of. There are supplements we give them too like Palm Kernel Cake (PKC), calcium from crushed animal bones. Toasted soya beans mixed with cassava is a good source of protein. These supplements would give them rapid growth and help them to produce large number of litters.MarketingGrasscutter meat is a delicacy; it is like hot cake in many restaurants. So, the easiest meat to market is grasscutter. Go to any big restaurant, if they do not have grasscutter meat in their menu, it means they do not know where to get it. Even if you produce 10 container-loads of grasscutter meat in Lagos, you will find market for them.The last time I was in Calabar for my nationwide sensitisation seminar-project, I almost wept because elephant grass is everywhere and the people did not know what to do with it. When my participants came, I told them not to wait for government for employment, that they should start raising grasscutter to make good money. Anybody who has failed in any other livestock farming business cannot fail with grasscutter business because it is very convenient, cheap and easy to do.Job creationGovernment is supposed to create the enabling environment for businesses to thrive. I discovered that government is only paying lip service to youth empowerment. In some states, what the governors do as a way of alleviating poverty is to buy motorcycle, wheelbarrow, truck and tri-cycle for people.The roads are filled with able-bodied young men, who should be engaged in farming. It is in a bid to empower our youths that I embarked on this nation-wide sensitisation campaign on agriculture to create awareness on how grasscutter farming can curb unemployment and alleviate poverty. Today, we have taken our seminars to almost all the states capitals in Nigeria.Message to NigeriansIn order to free yourself from poverty or increase your income, try and invest in this simple business. Why I say it is simple is because it is not a cumbersome business, you can start with little capital.
Click here to read full news..
