A project to strengthen food and nutrition security in Central Africa by improving the use of livestock forages recently acquired a new experimental guinea pig - literally.

Pioneering new work by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT by its Spanish abbreviation) and its partners to improve guinea pig production could help tackle food insecurity in the conflict zones of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

It follows CIAT scientists' surprise realization last year that the rodents, which are native to South America, are being kept as "micro livestock" in rural households of the troubled North and South Kivu districts of the Central African country. It is hoped that improving production could increase the quality and quantity of guinea pig meat, providing rural communities with a much-needed source of protein and micronutrients in a country with one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the world.

For this guinea pig keeper in North Kivu, the animal provides a low-cost source of protein. Photo: CIAT/Neil Palmer.

In collaboration with national partners, CIAT scientists are currently investigating the eco-efficient use of improved forages and better on-farm practices to increase guinea pig productivity in the DRC, as part of a 3-year project funded by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ by its German abbreviation). Small and easy to conceal, guinea pigs are well-suited to DRC's conflict zones, where extreme poverty and widespread lawlessness makes the looting of larger domestic livestock commonplace. The animals are also a relatively low-cost investment and reproduce quickly, with females capable of producing up to five litters per year, or a total of 10-15 offspring. They also suffer from fewer diseases than pigs, chickens and rabbits. In the event of disease outbreaks, their rapid reproduction means populations can recover quickly.

"We're not sure exactly how guinea pigs got to the DRC," says CIAT forage scientist Brigitte Maass. "But they have enormous potential to improve rural livelihoods there."

The BMZ project originally targeted more traditional monogastric (single-stomached) animals such as pigs and poultry, but now it has been expanded to include guinea pigs as well. It focuses on the potential of using high-quality, highly digestible forages such as cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), lablab (Lablab purpureus), pinto peanut (Arachis pintoi) and butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) to significantly boost the rate of livestock production.

"In the DRC, guinea pigs are typically fed kitchen wastes, which makes them a great recycler," Maass continues. "But there is definitely room for improvement by introducing these kinds of highly productive, quality forages into their feeding system. We're working hard to establish which are the most effective and suitable." On-farm practices, such as improved animal management and the processing of forages with silage fermentation, and strengthening farmers' links to local and regional markets are crucial components of the project. The project opens possibilities for South-South collaboration. This could see farmers in the DRC benefitting from CIAT's ongoing monogastric research, as well as that of its Colombian partners, the Universidad Nacional (Palmira) and the Universidad del Cauca (Popayán).

Guinea pigs provide an affordable source of nutrition for poor communities in the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo: CIAT/Neil Palmer.

"This means our work could be applicable on a much larger scale than we previously imagined," observes Maass.

The next step for Maass and the CIAT forages team is to meet with farmers in the DRC to establish forage-feeding calendars to help pinpoint times when they experience feed shortages, and help find other ways to improve the system. The team has established trials in four villages in South Kivu to assess the suitability of forage varieties. They will conduct participatory research and talk extensively with farmers to ensure any recommendations are applicable to prevailing conditions.

"Ultimately it's about more than just raising livestock," says CIAT sociologist Wanjiku Chiuri. "For example, many households use the revenue from selling livestock to pay for school fees, which often means that children are expected to contribute significantly to livestock keeping. By improving livestock productivity, the knock-on effects are improved health and children needing to spend less time collecting forages, which increases the chances of them being able to attend and concentrate on school."

CIAT's Forages Program leader Michael Peters welcomed the inclusion of guinea pigs in the project. "This is another great example of thinking outside the box and using our research to create more opportunities for improving rural livelihoods in some of the poorest parts of the world," he says.
"None of the scientists had contemplated guinea pigs as an option in the DRC when the project started," Peters adds. "Now they really could turn out to be indispensable."