The current stage and future prospects of guinea pig production under smallholder conditions in West Africa; 1. Global overview

摘要

TheGuineapig(Caviaporcellus),amemberoftherodentorder,isconsideredaverypromisingquot;micro-livestockquot;speciesforruraldevelopmentbecauseitrequireslittlecapital,equipment,spaceandlabor,andprovidesaninexpensive,readilyavailableandhighqualitymeat.Fromprehistorictimes,ithasbeenraisedforfoodinthecentralhighlandsoftheAndesregionofLatinAmerica.Guineapigs(GP)arenowalsorearedformeatindifferentcountriesofLatinAmerica,AsiaandAfrica.AlthoughGPcontributetothealleviationofproteindeficiencyinthedietsofpeopleindevelopingcountries,theyhavelargelybeenneglectedasalivestockspecies.MostresearchreportshavefocusedontheroleofGPaslaboratoryspecimens.Thus,theiractualcontributionstofoodproductionhavebeengreatlyignoredand/orunderestimatedbyscientists,extensionandotherdevelopmentworkers,andpolicymakersintheagriculturalsectorindevelopingcountries.EspeciallyinAfrica,thereislittlepublishedinformationontheirproduction,marketingandconsumptionundersmallholderconditionsindevelopingcountries.InWestAfrica,muchoftheworkonsmallholderGPproductionhasbeendoneinCameroon.ThispaperprovidesaglobaloverviewofGPproductionwithaspecialfocusonthetraditionalsubsistencerearingsystemaspracticedbylimited-resourcefarmers.