Chronicle Editor
Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Commercial Rabbit Breeders Association (ZICORBA) says it has been approached by Botswana’s Northern Rabbit Breeders Association to assist them in constructing their first rabbit slaughter house in that country.
This follows the successful construction of Zimbabwe’s first export-certified rabbit abattoir worth over US$1 million by ZICORBA in Harare last year.
The facility, which is one of the biggest rabbit abattoirs in Africa with a capacity to slaughter between 2,5 tonnes and 3,5 tonnes of rabbit per 8-hour shift per day, was launched in September last year.
ZICORBA said their counterparts from the neighbouring country have approached them seeking help to set up a rabbit abattoir in Botswana’s second largest city, Francistown.
The association’s president, Mr Regis Nyamakanga, said cuniculture production was catching-on like a wild-fire on the continent with countries such as Zambia and Nigeria planning to set up rabbit slaughter facilities.
“In addition to our talks with Botswana, l also recently spoke to the president of the Zambian rabbit producers who also sought our advice on how to set up a rabbit abattoir in Zambia,” he said.
“They wanted a facility that slaughters about 300 rabbits per day. We shared our experience with them. We are also aware of the plans in Nigeria to set up rabbit slaughter facilities as part of government-funded initiative.”
Mr Nyamakanga is on record saying his organisation has embarked on various initiatives such as strategic alliances with different stakeholders in and outside Zimbabwe in line with the objectives of the Government’s Livestock Growth Plan.
The Livestock Growth Plan is part of the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy whose agenda is to grow the livestock industry to US$1,9 billion by 2025.
Botswana’s Northern Rabbit Breeders Association (NORBA) president, Ms Timbu Iris Ntjenje, was quoted as saying:
“Since rabbit meat processing is still an uncharted territory for us, we approached our counterparts in Zimbabwe for them to help us set up our first abattoir here in Botswana.
“We are also toying with the idea of running the abattoir as joint venture with our Zimbabwean partners.
“We are looking at different options and the feasibility of doing so.”
With a population of just over two million, Botswana is a mineral and agriculture-rich country.
Ms Ntjenje said her country has of late seen an improvement in the number of rabbit farmers.
“Although rabbit farming is relatively new in Botswana and consumption of rabbit meat is still low in the country, we have seen an uptick in the number of people venturing in cuniculture production in recent months.
“We have also been receiving a number of enquiries about rabbit meat and in readiness for an upswing in demand for rabbit meat in the country, we are planning to set up our own rabbit abattoir in Francistown,” she said. – @KazungaOliver
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