Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) Production in West Africa: Prospects, Challenges and Role in Disease Transmission

Akinola, L. A. F.; Etela, I.; Emiero, S. R.

doi:10.9734/ajea/2015/14194

Cited by 8 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Unsurprisingly therefore, they are reputed to be the fourth largest extant rodent and the second largest African rodent after the African porcupine, Hystrix africaeaustralis . Their large carcass yield and the high nutritional value of their meat make them a premium alternative source of protein, especially in sub‐Saharan Africa, where they command high prices leading to huge economic returns . Furthermore, their meat is widely accepted, with few to no cultural and religious prohibitions, thus making them Africa's foremost micro‐livestock…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A study of scientific publications on the greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus, Temminck 1827)

Mustapha

Teriba

Ezekiel

et al. 2020

Anim Models and Exp Med

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: The greater cane rat (GCR), reputed to be African's second largest rodent, is a precocial hystricomorph with an uncommon phenotype and life history. Scientific and socio-economic interests in the GCR have led to heightened research efforts targeted towards a better understanding of its biology and exploration of its economic and translational usefulness.Methods: Records of all online scientific publications on the GCR from Google, Google Scholar, PubMed, science.gov, Ebscohost and Worldwide science, with the exception of research theses, proceedings, unpublished projects and abstracts, were collated and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results:A total of 146 published scholarly articles spanning about six decades were retrieved, with 98% of the GCR publications originating from African countries. Nigeria boasts the highest number of publications (58.22%) followed by Ghana (21.23%) and South Africa (5.48%) while Senegal contributed the least (0.69%).Publications were sorted into ten field categories. The field with the highest number of articles (41.78%) was animal breeding and management recording, closely followed by anatomy (37.67%). Lesser contributions were made by parasitology (5.48%), biochemistry/hematology (4.8%), pharmacology/toxicology (4.11%), pathology (2.06%), and surgery/anesthesia and physiology (1.37% apiece). The fields with fewest contributions were microbiology and developmental biology (0.69% each). Conclusion:This study chronicles the spectrum of knowledge available on the GCR, highlighting the knowledge gap that still exists in various fields in order to provide advocacy for new frontiers in research efforts on this rodent. We suggest the need for a clearly defined and well integrated national/regional policy aimed at establishing Africa's foremost micro-livestock rodent, the greater cane rat, on the world's scientific radar. K E Y W O R D SAfrican rodent, grasscutter, greater cane rat, micro-livestock, review, wildlife | 41 MUSTAPHA eT Al.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A study of scientific publications on the greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus, Temminck 1827)

Mustapha

Teriba

Ezekiel

et al. 2020

Anim Models and Exp Med

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A second step regression model was applied to determine the farm specific attributes in explaining inefficiency in some studies such as [2,7,16]. Alternatively, the factors can be incorporated directly into the model.…”

Section: Determinants Of Inefficiency Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Nigeria, there is an abundant variety of wildlife resources capable of supporting the protein intake of the populace. However, in recent times, there had been significant short fall between the production and supply of animal protein to feed the ever increasing population [2]. To arrest this unacceptable trend, efforts had been directed towards boosting the microlivestock sector.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, it has been observed that one of the most serious constraints of agricultural growth in Nigeria is the inefficient use of productive resources and that considerable growth can be achieved by simply improving the level of efficiency in resource use [7,8]. Studies conducted by Akinola et al [2] and Olatidoye et al [4] revealed that Grasscutter production in Southwest, Nigeria, is mainly at subsistence level and output is relatively low despite its relatively competitive prices in both local and international market. It is therefore obvious that with the ever increasing human population and obvious protein shortage in Africa, an understanding of the efficiency of Grasscutter production in Nigeria, is most opportune.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There have been several studies on economics of Grasscutter production in Nigeria but very few exist on efficiency e.g. [1] revealed the potential and constraints in Grasscutter production in Oyo State but falls short of providing the economic values of these potentials; also, [2] attempted to address this using marginal values which we consider inadequate in view of its average value. Despite the fewer studies conducted in Grasscutter production in the State, a Data Envelopment Approach has not been applied to determine the production efficiency of Grasscutter farmers in the study area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Economic Analysis of Grasscutter Production (Thryonomys swinderianus) in Osun State, Nigeria: A Case of Data Envelopment Approach

Olatidoye

Adisa

Akinola

et al. 2019

AJRAF

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aim: The study estimated the technical, allocative and economic efficiency indices and further examined the factors influencing technical efficiency for the sampled Grasscutter farms in Osun State. Study Design: The study made use of only primary data obtained from sampled Grasscutter farmers in the three agricultural zones of the State. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in Osun State, Nigeria during 2017/2018 farming season. Methodology: Twenty four respondents, each, were randomly selected from the list of Grasscutter farmers obtained from Osun State Agricultural Development Project (ADP). Data collected was analyzed using the stochastic frontier model and Tobit regression model. The overall technical efficiency was estimated with no effort of decomposing it into pure and scale efficiencies. Results: The results showed that the range of efficiency indices varies greatly with minimum of 0.742, 0.263 and 0.168 and maximum of 1.0 for technical, allocative and economic efficiencies, respectively. The mean efficiencies which indicate the average potential therein in Grasscutter production in the study area were 0.96, 0.63 and 0.83 for technical, allocative and economic efficiency, respectively. Only one, out of the seventy two grasscutter farmers involved in the analysis was found to be technically, allocatively and economically efficient. Many sampled grasscutter farmers employed the ‘wrong’ input mix, given input prices, so that, on average, costs were (37%) higher than the cost minimizing level. However, farms have the potential to reduce their physical input, on average, by (4%) and still produce the same level of output. Conclusion: There was a great potential to improve the output of grasscutter farms and save cost, if variable inputs were adjusted to the optimal level along the short-run isoquant. Education and farming experience significantly influenced technical, allocative and economic efficiencies, respectively, while inefficiency results, in large part, from allocative rather than technical inefficiency.

show abstract

Toward a sustainable, participatory and inclusive wild meat sector

Coad¹,

Fa²,

Abernethy³

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The main animals that are hunted are warthogs, monkeys and Gambia rats. (Photo by Axel Fassio/CIFOR) For this report, where photographs focused on one or a few people to the extent where individuals could be recognized, we decided to only use photos where the subject had given consent for the photograph to be used for this report. This cautious approach was adopted due to the illegality of hunting, or the ambiguity of hunting laws in many tropical countries.

show abstract

Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) Production in West Africa: Prospects, Challenges and Role in Disease Transmission

Cited by 8 publications

References 13 publications

A study of scientific publications on the greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus, Temminck 1827)

A study of scientific publications on the greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus, Temminck 1827)

Economic Analysis of Grasscutter Production (Thryonomys swinderianus) in Osun State, Nigeria: A Case of Data Envelopment Approach

Toward a sustainable, participatory and inclusive wild meat sector

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About