The Ghana Grasscutter Project is supporting 54 farmers with domesticated grass cutters in the Upper West Region to help enhance livelihoods through improvement in grasscutter production.

The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) sponsored project, which started in March, would operate in six districts.

Three farmers from each of the 18 communities would be provided with three females and one male to start with .

Dr. Boniface B. Kayang, Country Coordinator of the Project, mentioned Nandom, Jirapa, Lambussie-Karni, Sissala East, Wa East, and Lawra Districts as districts that would initially benefit from the project in the region.

He said after two years, agriculture extension officers would identify subsequent farmers from the communities and they would also be provided with two females and one male each from the stock produced by the 54 farmers.

He said $500,000.00 would be used to provide cages and acquire breeding stock for the farmers. The farmers would be responsible for the feeding and health management of the rodents.

Dr. Kayang said making grass cutter available to farmers in the region was the surest way of ensuring balanced diet for the people.

He appealed to the model farmers who would benefit from the project to take the rearing of grass cutters as a business and invest adequately in it to sustain its production.

The Kyoto University, Japan and University of Ghana are collaborators of the project.