The Dormaa local Grasscutter Rearers Association has appealed to the Dormaa municipal Assembly to incorporate grasscutter rearing into its National Youth Employment Programme to prepare youth for the fast growing business. The Chairman of the Association, Mr. Kwasi Kyeremeh, who made the appeal during a two-day workshop for 15 prospective grasscutter rearers at Dormaa-Ahenkro also announced that the Union was prepared to offer basic training to adequately equip the youth to take on the business. Participants were taken through the available grasscutter species, housing and equipment, feeding, reproduction, animal health, stock management and marketing. Touching on the advantages of grasscutter rearing, Mr. Kyeremeh said it had the cheapest stock and less cumbersome feeding culture whilst the practice could also assist communities to control the incidence of bushfires during the harmattan season. "When more people tend to engage in the rearing of animals, the hitherto reliance on burning the bush for game could be curtailed so that precious human lives and property are not destroyed by fire each year," he emphasized. The 2010 Brong-Ahafo Regional Best Grasscutter farmer, Mr. Kwame Peprah Asease also stressed the need for people to engage in alternative livelihood ventures such as grasscutter, bee and mushroom farming to supplement the protein requirements of their families. Mr. Peprah explained that grasscutter farming required religious adherence to laid down processes which were only obtainable through teaching and learning and therefore appealed to all prospective farmers to acquire the relevant knowledge. The Municipal Deputy Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) in-charge of Plants Protection and Regulatory Services, Mr. Eric Saabome, described the workshop as timely and capable of whipping up interest and awareness among the youth towards the realization of government's emphasis on animal husbandry to ensure the protection of endangered species and reduction in meat importation into Ghana. A Resource Person, Mr. Patrick Yedu announced that the Brong-Ahafo Region had over 2,000 grasscutter rearers and the figure was expected to rise exponentially as the Government and the German Cooperation (GTZ) were collaborating to take it to another level. He appealed to the participants to extend the knowledge acquired to the youth in their families and communities who might wish to join the project. Source: GNA