HOUSEHOLDS' CONSUMPTION PATTERNS OF GRASSCUTTER (Thryonomys swinderianus) MEAT WITHIN IBADAN METROPOLIS, OYO STATE, NIGERIA

The study was aimed at determining household consumption patterns of grasscutter meat within Ibadan Metropolis. Primary data were sourced by the use of 120 copies of structured questionnaire out of which 115 copies were analyzed. A multistage random sampling procedure was applied in administering the questionnaires. Descriptive statistics as well as Chi-square were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that 59% of the respondents were male while 48% were female. Ninety eight percent (98%) also attested that consumption of grasscutter meat has no contradiction on their culture. About 54% of the respondents were married, 24% were single and about 22% were both divorced, widow and widower. It was discovered that 71% had formal education and 28.7% had either informal or no education. From the findings, 68% of the consumers ate grasscutter meat because of its taste while 19.1% ate it because of its nutritional value. Chi-square analysis showed that age, marital status, educational level, income and occupation were statistically significant to households’ consumption pattern at 5% level of significance, while religion was not significant. This implies that age, marital status, educational level and occupation have influence on the grasscutter consumption patterns of the consumers .Based on the findings from the study, it was therefore recommended that more training on the domestication of grasscutter should be made available to consumers in order to reduce scarcity of the meat due to seasonality. This will also reduce the price of grasscutter meat, especially during the raining season.