Reducing food insecurity in developing countries through meat production: the potential of the guinea pig ( Cavia porcellus )

Global poverty and food insecurity continue to remain critical issues, especially in rural areas. Developing and fostering agricultural systems that not only require low to moderate amounts of economic capital and few external inputs but also maintain and enhance the resource base of production are key features of sustainable agricultural development. Sustainable agricultural development, including diversifying smallholder production to include livestock, is a pragmatic approach to address both rural poverty and food insecurity. Livestock play important roles in the lives of humans as converters, recyclers and banks of nutrients. Smallholders raise a diversity of livestock species and often raise multiple species simultaneously. High fecundity, diet flexibility and adaptability to a wide range of housing and management approaches are critical traits of livestock species well suited for producing meat for home consumption and marketing in the context of rural smallholders. Swine (Sus scrofa) and chicken (Gallus domesticus) meet many of these criteria and are well known livestock species. This paper examines the potential for a less common species of livestock, guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) to enhance food security and increase household income of rural smallholders. Although cultural acceptance of guinea pig as a source of nutrition and income is less ubiquitous than that of swine, chicken and other species, the biological, ecological and economic advantages of guinea pig deserve further examination by those working to alleviate global poverty and food insecurity.