Reducing food insecurity in developingcountries through meat production: thepotential of the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus)

Global poverty and food insecurity continue to remain critical issues, especially in rural areas. Developing and fosteringagricultural systems that not only require low to moderate amounts of economic capital and few external inputs but alsomaintain and enhance the resource base of production are key features of sustainable agricultural development. Sustainableagricultural development, including diversifying smallholder production to include livestock, is a pragmatic approach toaddress both rural poverty and food insecurity. Livestock play important roles in the lives of humans as converters, recyclersand 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 oflivestock 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. Thispaper examines the potential for a less common species of livestock, guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) to enhance food securityand increase household income of rural smallholders. Although cultural acceptance of guinea pig as a source of nutritionand income is less ubiquitous than that of swine, chicken and other species, the biological, ecological and economicadvantages of guinea pig deserve further examination by those working to alleviate global poverty and food insecurity