There are reputable grasscutter farmers in Nigeria, particularly in the Southern part of the country. However, Jovana integrated Farms are technically equipped and has the capacity to supply top genetics and quality grasscutter foundation stocks to intending farmers nationwide, no matter the quantity. Here is the address: No 42, Osolo Way, Off Airport Road, by 7 & 8 Bus-Stop, near Aswani market, Ajao-Estate, Lagos. Tel: 080 33262 808, Email: [email protected], Website: www.jovanafarms.com.ng
If you are looking for a grasscutter breeding colony-You shouldn’t make price your primary criteria. You can get cheaper grasscutters from the roadside farmers or agents but later you will see the inferior results. Same with goats and other animals! When looking for a breeding stock, look for the best and Jovana Integrated Farms has it! The genetic pool of your future grasscutters depends on this parent stock. So, you are not just buying an animal- you are buying a gene pool and a history.
That is why Jovana Integrated Farms insisted on top-genetic grasscutter breeds. We don’t play when it comes to quality grasscutter breeding families. The work of breeding good and fast growing grasscutters is a work for a long time, requiring pluck, strategy, patience, a high degree of intelligence, and a close practical judgment. This is the work of brains! For your interest, get our pedigree grasscutter bloodlines.
CONTACT us for TRAINING, MENTORSHIP and FARM SET-UP or attend JOVANA INTEGRATED FARMS interface training on grasscutter farming at the following CITIES: Abuja, Lagos, Enugu, Port-Harcourt, Awka, Ibadan, Benin-City, Asaba, Ekwulobia, Akure, Ota and Owerri. Can’t attend? Order for SELF-TUTORIAL VCD & BOOK. Visit us online at: www.jovanafarms.com.ng, E-mail: [email protected] or Call: 080 33262 808, for more details about the interface training venues. Choose also the nearest venue from the advert on this page and in our website.
Quality grasscutter breeding stocks from Jovana Integrated Farms can help to make emerging farmers successful, and they also have a large local and foreign meat market. Jovana Farms breed and sell this grasscutters to farmers at affordable price. This pedigree grasscutter bloodline is bred to thrive under intensive livestock farming conditions in environment where the quality of grass is poor. The breed has the ability to convert poor-quality forage into meat at very low cost, enabling livestock farmers in these areas to farm commercially.
At Jovana integrated Farms, we remain committed to providing farmers with improved quality grasscutter breeding stocks with fast growth and early maturity. Our grasscutter species are always a sure bet, exceeding farmers’ expectations in terms of performance and profitability in all the farms across the country where they are being used.
The bucks should display a high libido, and easily covering does in the confinement with minimum inputs. Does should kid in the cage system and raise the kids easily and with minimal intervention by the farmer.
The grasscutter’s low input costs are what drive the profitability of farming with the breed. This is what the commercial producer is looking for.
Crossbreeding is the mating of animals with unrelated genes, which belongs to the same species. It is used to inject new genes into the flock, the advantages may include fast growth rate, heavier breeds, resistance to diseases, fertility rate, meat-carrying ability, etc.
The grasscutter industry in Nigeria is essentially healthy, with a steady market locally and internationally. Locally, the industry could look to the burgeoning packaged meat and speciality restaurant markets. These are sectors woefully serviced despite their growth. The sustainability of supply will need to be addressed, as will the logistics. Above all, the industry must return to the breed’s core strengths of hardiness, fertility, adaptability and good mothering abilities. These are the foundation stones of the quality grasscutter and polluting them with inbreeds will do long-term damage to the breed.
There is a good market for slaughter grasscutter in the country. As with all businesses, prices vary according to the time of year and prevailing economic conditions. Generally, however, the market for live slaughter animals is steadily increasing. The urbanisation of Nigeria’s population has seen other markets for grasscutter farmers opening up. These include grasscutter meat – being available in butcheries and supermarkets supplying speciality restaurants and the health-conscious consumer. To my mind, the latter has great potential, considering that grasscutter meat, after snail and fish, has the lowest cholesterol levels, is lean and contains high levels of nutrients. It’s also farmed naturally, so no growth stimulants or supplements containing animal protein are fed to the animals. I believe these are the new undeveloped markets awaiting the grasscutter farmer.
Jovana Farms provides information and expertise aimed at sustainability, has trained more than 8000 farmers in Nigeria and other African countries on profitable grasscutter farming over the past ten years. Most of these learners have paid their own way to attend the courses and buy training materials. Rather than granting money to non-viable farming enterprises, the government should work with organisations such as Jovana farms to train new and existing farmers on sustainable and viable grasscutter farming.
A farmer with poor-quality animals, no training and little or no animal health programme, and who suffers high stock losses from mortalities doesn’t remain motivated for long. The market already exists. New farmers should be provided with the basics upon which to build a business to supply that market. This consists of training, foundation stock and essential inputs, as well as meaningful mentorship until such stage as the farmer is independent and productive.
There’s a current trend amongst commercial Nigeria farmers to pamper their grasscutters, providing artificial feeding like bakery waste, noddles and poultry feed. These types of feeding require expensive inputs, negatively affecting profitability. The grasscutters was never bred for this; it was bred to feed on grasses and other agro by-products and to be fertile, hardy and adaptable with good mothering abilities – requiring very low input costs to farm profitably.
Sustainable production needs to be expanded in order to meet the demands of an increasingly urbanised and affluent population. Retailers will not allocate marketing and retail space to a product that cannot be supplied consistently. In addition, producers must take greater ownership of the supply chain by establishing outlets, developing branding, implementing generic marketing and promotional campaigns co-funded by retailers, building a nutritional value and benefit database for grasscutter meat, and communicating all this to the market. The health food industry is an underexploited segment despite its growth worldwide. Grasscutter meat is one of the healthiest white meats available and it can fill a gap in this market segment if marketed correctly and aggressively.
The export market does have potential, but it’s not for the faint-hearted. Although prices are somewhat higher than those in Nigeria, the risk is much higher and administration requirements significantly more onerous. The deteriorating exchange rate works in the favour of producers earning US dollars and this fact supports the grasscutter export industry to a large extent.
In Nigeria, some farmers buy grasscutter for commercial multiplication or to improve the quality of their flocks. Here the core quality grasscutter characteristics of hardiness, fertility, meat-carrying ability and adaptability weigh more heavily in the decision-making process.