THE PORTABLE FARMA LETTER FROM CHINEDU ELUWA

THINKING ABOUT STARTING A GRASSCUTTER FARM?

DON’T BUY
GRASSCUTTERS
YET.

If you're preparing to spend hundreds of thousands—or even millions—of naira setting up a Grasscutter farm, there is something I believe you should buy first.

Knowledge.

I know that sounds strange coming from me.

I run The Portable Farm.

We sell Grasscutters.

So you'd expect me to tell you to get your money ready, buy your breeding stock and start immediately.

Chinedu Eluwa, founder of The Portable Farm

Chinedu EluwaFounder, The Portable Farm

BEFORE YOUR MONEY ENTERS THE FARM

Can you confidently tell a male Grasscutter from a female?

Do you know what to look for before accepting breeding stock from a supplier?

Do you know the kind of housing they need?

What will you feed them?

How will you know when a female is ready for mating—or whether she has successfully mated?

Would you recognise the signs of pregnancy?

Would you know what to do if one suddenly stopped eating?

And here's the question many beginners leave until too late:

Who will buy your Grasscutters when they begin multiplying?

If you're not confident about those answers yet, I don't think your next purchase should be Grasscutters.

Not yet.

Because...

Three grasscutters feeding on leafy stalks in an enclosure — Grasscutters feeding in an enclosure.

BUYING THE ANIMALS IS THE EASY PART.

Knowing what to do with them after they arrive is where the real work begins.

And I learned that lesson the hard way.

WASIMI, ONDO STATE — 2008

IN 2008, MY MONTHLY NYSC ALLOWANCE WAS JUST ₦9,775.

I was serving at Kind Comprehensive Secondary School in Wasimi, Ondo East Local Government Area.

After buying food, kerosene and taking care of basic needs, there wasn't much left.

But I was already thinking about life after NYSC.

I wanted to find something I could build for myself through farming.

One day, a fellow Corper named Ibrahim suggested I visit the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria in Ibadan.

So one morning, I put on my NYSC uniform and travelled to Ibadan.

I saw mushroom farming.

I saw snail farming.

Then I saw something that immediately caught my attention:

Grasscutters being raised in captivity.

Until then, like many Nigerians, I knew Grasscutter mainly as bushmeat.

But here were people deliberately breeding them.

The animals didn't necessarily require a massive piece of land.

Much of what they ate could be sourced around us.

They didn't have the offensive smell associated with some livestock.

And Nigerians already knew and ate the meat.

I remember thinking:

“There is something here.”

Then came the important question:

HOW DO I ACTUALLY DO THIS?

I started looking for someone who could properly teach me.

Eventually, one farmer agreed.

His fee?

₦34,000.

My allowance was ₦9,775.

The training would cost me more than three months of my NYSC allowance.

I called my father.

He helped me complete the money.

I paid.

And after making what was, for me at the time, a very serious investment...

I WAS STILL CONFUSED.

I had received information.

But I didn't yet have the clarity I needed to confidently start.

And that's an important distinction.

Information isn’t the same as understanding.

In 2008, finding good information was difficult.

Today, information is everywhere.

Search online and you'll find YouTube videos, Facebook posts, WhatsApp groups, blogs and farmers giving advice.

One person says one thing.

Another tells you something different.

So your problem may no longer be:

“Where can I find information?”

Your problem may be:

“HOW DO I PUT ALL THIS TOGETHER BEFORE I PUT MY MONEY INTO THE FARM?”

Because scattered information isn't the same thing as understanding.

Maybe you've already been researching Grasscutter farming.

Perhaps you've contacted someone to ask the price of breeding stock.

Maybe you've saved pictures of cages.

You may even have started calculating how much money you'll need.

But let me give you a simple test.

AN IDEA BECOMES A RESPONSIBILITY

Imagine your Grasscutters arrived this afternoon.

Imagine your Grasscutters were delivered to you this afternoon.

The supplier leaves.

The animals are now inside your cages.

What happens next?

Would you know?

Because that's when Grasscutter farming stops being an interesting business idea...

and becomes your responsibility.

What will you feed them tonight? How should they be grouped? What records should you keep?

THIS IS WHY I SAY: DON'T START WITH THE ANIMALS.

You can build the wrong cage.

Buy unsuitable breeding stock.

Accept the wrong sex ratio because you don't know how to check for yourself.

Make avoidable feeding or handling mistakes.

Mismanage breeding.

Fail to keep useful records.

Or successfully multiply your animals...

only to discover that you never seriously planned who would buy them.

Each of those mistakes can cost money.

And some lessons are much cheaper to learn before live animals and serious capital are involved.

That's why I believe your first investment in Grasscutter farming shouldn't necessarily be the animals.

IT SHOULD BE UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOU'RE GETTING INTO.

Don’t start with the animals.
Start with knowledge.

THE PRACTICAL GUIDE I WISH I’D HAD WHEN I STARTED

Grasscutter
Farming Secrets

How to Successfully Breed, Carefully Handle & Profitably Make Lots of Money Selling Grasscutters

By Chinedu Eluwa

₦10,000

Physical book · ₦10,000 · ₦3,000 delivery anywhere in Nigeria

This isn't a book I wrote to make Grasscutter farming sound easy.

And buying it doesn't guarantee that you'll make money from Grasscutter farming.

What it gives you is something much more useful:

A practical reference to help you understand the animals and the business before—and while—you put your money into them.

So instead of depending entirely on scattered posts, random videos and conflicting advice, you have something you can keep, mark, study and return to when questions arise.

WHY LISTEN TO CHINEDU?

From a confused Youth Corper to building farms for others.

I DIDN'T QUIT AFTER THAT ₦34,000 EXPERIENCE.

I kept researching.

I kept learning.

Then I began putting what I learned into practice.

What started with a curious Youth Corper travelling to Ibadan eventually became a major part of my life's work.

Over the years, I have bred, handled, bought and supplied Grasscutters.

I've trained aspiring farmers and worked with farmers facing the everyday realities of raising these animals.

I've facilitated Grasscutter-related workshops and agricultural programmes.

My work has included setting up Grasscutter farms for clients—including a farm for former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom.

And through The Portable Farm, I continue working within the Grasscutter farming value chain today.

But I didn't start with all that experience.

I started as a beginner looking for answers.

I didn’t begin as an expert.
I began looking for answers.

INSIDE THE BOOK

From your first cage to finding your customers.

Before the animals arrive

You should understand what you're buying.

Inside the book, you'll learn about selecting and sourcing breeding stock, including how to differentiate males from females and what you should consider before stocking your farm.

You'll learn about Grasscutter housing and cage construction.

You'll understand feeding and nutrition, including commonly used feeds and how to think about feeding the animals properly.

You'll also learn how to handle Grasscutters more carefully.

Because once you've bought the animals, these are no longer theoretical questions.

They're daily farm decisions.

When they’re in your care

One morning an animal stops eating.

Another separates itself from the others.

Something about its appearance or behaviour changes.

Would you notice?

The book introduces you to health and management concerns Grasscutter farmers should understand, warning signs to pay attention to and preventive management practices.

A book doesn't replace professional veterinary attention when it's required.

But as the person standing in front of those cages every day...

you should know enough to recognise when something isn't normal.

When breeding begins

Keeping Grasscutters is one thing.

Getting them to reproduce successfully is another.

How do you recognise when a female is in heat?

How should mating be managed?

How can you tell whether mating was successful?

How do you recognise pregnancy?

How should a pregnant female be managed?

What happens when she gives birth?

How do you reduce the risk of inbreeding as your stock develops?

These are some of the practical breeding subjects you'll encounter inside Grasscutter Farming Secrets.

When it’s time to make it a business

You can raise healthy animals.

Breed them successfully.

Watch your numbers grow.

And still have a business problem.

Because eventually someone has to buy them.

RAISING GRASSCUTTERS IS ONLY HALF OF THE BUSINESS.

The other half is finding customers.

That's why I didn't stop this book at feeding, housing and breeding.

You'll also learn about marketing Grasscutters from home, using social media and digital channels, building a community around your business, pre-orders and other ways of developing demand.

Because the wrong time to start asking...

“Who will buy my Grasscutters?”

...is when your cages are already full.

Think of it as a manual. Read it. Mark it. Make notes. Keep it. And when a question arises as you prepare or run your farm, open it again.

Physical book · ₦10,000 · ₦3,000 delivery anywhere in Nigeria

REAL PEOPLE. REAL COPIES.

Already in the hands of people across Nigeria.

Reader holding their copy of Grasscutter Farming Secrets

Some readers who received their copies of Grasscutter Farming Secrets.

Over the years, copies have found their way into the hands of aspiring and existing Grasscutter farmers in different parts of Nigeria.

Ordinary people who ordered the book and received their copies.

FROM MY WHATSAPP

And sometimes my phone looks like this…

Thanks for publishing your wealth of knowledge in grasscutter farming. And also for making it available for sale. I have received my copy.

Thank you so much sir, received my copy. The book is really helpful and educative God bless you.

Just collected the book from luxurious pack. Thanks very much

Original supplied message screenshots. Tap an image to read it at full size.

PUTTING THE PRICE IN PERSPECTIVE

Before you say “₦10,000 for a book?”…

Fair question.

NOW THINK ABOUT THE MONEY YOU'RE PREPARING TO SPEND.

You'll need breeding stock.

Housing.

Feed.

Equipment.

Transportation.

Possibly labour.

And other setup expenses.

Depending on the size of the farm you want to establish, those costs can quickly become substantial.

Yet one of the expenses beginners are often tempted to avoid is the one that should come before the others:

LEARNING WHAT THEY'RE DOING.

The ₦10,000 you spend on this book isn't supposed to be your biggest investment in Grasscutter farming.

It's supposed to come before your biggest investments.

That's the difference.

It’s supposed to come before your biggest investments.

Physical book · ₦10,000 · ₦3,000 delivery anywhere in Nigeria

THREE PRACTICAL BONUSES · INCLUDED

I also want you to put what you learn into practice.

Grasscutter Farm Startup Checklist

A practical checklist to help you think through important things before starting.

Before You Buy Your First Grasscutters Checklist

A guide to help you think through important questions before sourcing your breeding stock.

Grasscutter Farm Record-Keeping Pack

Simple records to help you begin documenting what’s happening on your farm.

All three are included with your copy at no additional cost.

No imaginary bonus values. Just three practical resources I think you’ll find useful.

GET YOUR COPY

Grasscutter Farming Secrets

Physical book + all 3 practical bonuses

₦10,000

Physical copy of the book
Startup Checklist
Before You Buy Checklist
Record-Keeping Pack

Delivery is a flat ₦3,000 anywhere in Nigeria. Book + delivery: ₦13,000.

Physical book · ₦10,000 · ₦3,000 delivery anywhere in Nigeria

Get the knowledge first.
Then decide how you want to start.

BEFORE YOU ORDER

A few questions you may still have.

I HAVEN'T STARTED FARMING YET. IS THIS BOOK FOR ME?

That's exactly who this page was primarily written for.

It's easier to understand certain things before building cages and buying animals than after your money has already been spent.

I ALREADY HAVE GRASSCUTTERS. CAN THE BOOK STILL HELP ME?

Yes. You may find areas of breeding, feeding, handling, management, record keeping or marketing that help you examine what you're already doing.

IS IT A PHYSICAL BOOK?

Yes.

Grasscutter Farming Secrets is a physical book delivered to you. The accompanying bonuses may be delivered digitally.

IS DELIVERY INCLUDED IN ₦10,000?

No.

₦10,000 is the price of the book. Delivery is a flat ₦3,000 anywhere in Nigeria. Book + delivery: ₦13,000.

WILL THIS BOOK GUARANTEE THAT I MAKE MONEY?

No.

No responsible person can guarantee your results in a livestock business simply because you bought a book.

Your results depend on your decisions, execution, costs, management, market and other factors.

The purpose of the book is to help you make those decisions from a more informed position.

CAN THE PORTABLE FARM SUPPLY MY GRASSCUTTERS WHEN I'M READY?

Yes.

But that's not the decision I'm asking you to make today.

Today, I'm asking you to learn first.

When you're ready for the animals, we can discuss the animals.

ONE LAST THING...

Back in 2008, I travelled to Ibadan looking for answers.

I spent more than three months of my NYSC allowance trying to learn Grasscutter farming.

And after paying, I still had plenty to figure out for myself.

You'll learn from experience too.

Every serious farmer does.

But there's no prize for deliberately starting from zero.

And you don't have to wait until live animals are sitting inside your cages before asking questions you could have answered earlier.

So if you've been telling yourself:

“I want to start Grasscutter farming...”

I'm not going to tell you not to.

I'm simply going to tell you: