Music enthusiasts in Europe will be treated to a series of concerts by Rwanda’s duo Charly na Nina, as well as oldies music icon Abdul Makanyaga, next month.

Their first concert is scheduled for May 5 in Belgium, where they will perform alongside DJ Princess Flor, a Rwandan DJ based in Belgium, and DJ Gigga.

From there, they will head to France, Switzerland and Sweden where they will stage more shows.

The tour is organised by Team Production, a Belgian company.

Nina, born Fatuma Umuhoza, expressed her excitement over tour and promised spectacular performances.

“It will be a big milestone for us,” she said.

This will be the first time the duo will be performing without their manager of five years Alex Muyoboke, since they parted ways last month.

Nina also revealed that they do not intend to hire a new manager any time soon until they finish the projects they have.

“We have a wonderful team that is supporting us,” she said, adding: “Hiring a new manager requires time and effort and since we have a lot of projects that begin next week, we will not be hiring one until we accomplish the tasks we currently have in our hands.”

The talented duo honed their craft as backup singers on stages across the country, and their breakthrough came with the release of their breakthrough track Indoro in 2015, followed by several other hits including Owooma, Face to Face, Zahabu and Try Me that made the group a household name.

Becoming self-employed with grasscutter farming

Nowadays, a lot of Nigerians go to higher institutions for the sole aim of getting paper qualification that make them eligible “to get white-collar jobs” after graduation.

This kind of dream is like one learning to become a well-paid slave forever. Even, the so-called jobs being prepared for are in short supply and many times not available.

The government, which had traditionally provided jobs, can no longer cater to the increasing number of jobseekers as it has even on occasions retrenched many without recourse to due process.

A credible alternative is to start your own animal farming business and be your own boss.

Grasscutter rearing can make you to be gainfully employed. At Jovana Farms we specialise in breeding, training, setting-up grasscutter farms and sales. Grasscutter farming is a great money-spinning business that can provide job opportunities for the young and old, and the educated or uneducated members of the society.

If you want to be your own boss and you are ready to work hard and get rich, try grasscutter farming.

The business does not require millions of naira to execute. It can be started with just one family of grasscutters normally called a colony which is sold for between N60, 000 and N65, 000.

A colony comprises one male and four females. They are reared in cages which can be constructed at a cost of N10, 000 by any roadside carpenter. Therefore, with N75,000, you are already in good business.

It is advisable to buy them when they are four months old, which is the breeding stock stage.

Grasscutter is odourless unlike fowls, rabbits, pig etc. You do not require an expanse of space to start. The cage can be placed anywhere in the compound or even in the kitchen. In terms of feeding, it is not like fish farming, pig farming or poultry farming, because grasscutters feed on grass.

In terms of yield, one female grasscutter can give birth to between six and 10 babies at a go. I have even witnessed 10 at once in my farm. It is better to do this than to remain unemployed. An undergraduate can take a soft loan from a bank, friend or family member and in a few months may be able to pay back the loan and still remain in business

For instance, if you start rearing now, in about four months, they will start having babies because they mature for mating at eight months.

And if you do not have enough space for expansion, you can sell the babies to new farmers. At the end of the day, the four females give you seven babies each twice a year, and this means you will have 56 more grasscutters.

Invariably, you only have to be patient for about eight months, and if they carry their babies for about five months, you can start cross breeding them for stronger breeds and in eight months, you start making profit.

Grasscutter meat is also high in demand. It readily comes to mind when people think of ‘bush meat’. Though for now, the price may be on the high side, the nutritional value is enormous. It is white meat and has low cholesterols and doctors often recommend it for health-conscious people.

The major challenge in grasscutter rearing is the technicalities involved. This is why we organise seminars and workshops all around the nation. We recommend that people come for proper training before going into the business. This is necessary because I have witnessed instances where people start without proper training, only to shut down when faced with minor technical challenges, but with proper training these challenges can be avoided.

Some went into it as a hobby. With some training and adequate guidance, the business can become a money spinner.

Today, people do not need to look far for quality grasscutter breeders. They are now readily available for supply now in my farm. In addition, we have also developed special breeds through research. We have also developed the criteria for identifying the right species, right wards, grouped them according to their species and compiled their data. All these we teach in our seminars and workshops.

CONTACT us for CONSULTANCY or attend JOVANA FARMS seminars nearest to you and discover everything you need to know about breeding grasscutters! Can’t attend? Order for Self-tutorial VCD & BOOK.