The grasscutter: an untapped resource of Africa’s grasslands

摘要

Thegrasscutter,Thryonomysswinderianus,isoneofthelargerodentsofAfrica#8217;sgrasslandsbeingdomesticated.Naturally,thedistributionofthegrasscutterisinfluencedbyoccurrenceofdenseandthickcane-likegrassesgrowingindampplaces.Theeconomicpotentialofthegrasscutteristhereasonmanydevelopmentagenciesandnon-governmentalorganizationsinterestedinreducingpovertyarepromotingitsproduction,particularlyincountriesintheWestAfricansub-regionwherethemeatoftheanimalisadelicacy.Themeatofgrasscutterenjoysahigherpremiumpriceperkilogramweightthanchicken,beef,pork,muttonorchevonamongmanyWestAfricansandelsewhere.Comparedtoothermeatssuchasrabbitmeat,grasscuttermeatisverylowincholesterolandhighinprotein.Ithasaveryhighmineral(e.g.iron,calciumandphosphorous)contentcomparedtobeef,mutton,andchevon.Theeconomicreturnonrearingiscomparabletothatofacow,muchhigherthanmostlivestockspecies,andonlylowerthanthatofthepig.However,thereisverylittleinformationonbasicproductionparametersforefficienteconomicexploitationundercaptivebreeding,whichhastranslatedintopoorproductionperformanceundercaptivitycomparedtotherabbit.Furtherresearchisrequiredwithregardstothenutritionofthegrasscutteraswellastheconstraintsassociatedwithgrowthratesandreproductiveefficiencyincaptivity.Geneticimprovementofthegrasscutterisanotherareathatneedsextensiveresearchinordertoimproveuponitsdocility.