Cuniculture on the rise

Farmers have been urged to venture into rabbit production as the demand for the meat is on the increase with restaurants failing to cope.

This was revealed at the launch of the Rabbit Breeders and Producers Association of Zimbabwe (RBPAZ) in Harare last week.

President of the association, Mr Jonathan Tembo said demand for rabbit meat had tremendously gone up in recent years as restaurants were moving towards nutritional foods in line with Zim-Asset’s Food Security and Nutrition Cluster.

Mr Tembo said a survey conducted in most restaurants around the capital revealed that rabbit meat is in demand at most of the outlets.

As such, farmers can take advantage of the high demand and engage in commercial production of rabbits.

“Farmers interested in rabbit farming business have since recognised a gap in supplying rabbit meat. Therefore, they have mobilised each other and formed the Rabbit Breeders and Producers Association of Zimbabwe (RBPAZ) so as to work as one entity,’’ said Mr Tembo.

He said the move to form an association was motivated by the need to economically empower farmers.

Rabbit production involves the use of on farm or backyard resources such as vegetation “greens” for feed, poles for hutch construction and family labour.

“We seek to be the standard bearers with regards to breeding rabbits in Zimbabwe and in the region. Our goal is to reduce poverty and create employment by elevating cuniculture to the fore of animal husbandry and agri-business in general and to in turn, promote the healthy rabbit meat as a main stream ingredient in our Zimbabwean diet,’’ he said.

Due to the shortage of the rabbit, some middlemen are said to be taking advantage of this apparent scarcity and selling the meat at high prices to braai markets and traditional restaurants.

Mr Tembo said the association sought to harness the power of an organised supply chain for rabbit meat through registering interested farmers as well as seasoned experts in commercial production of rabbits.

“This, we hope, will help alleviate the unemployment epidemic considering that cuniculture is not capital intensive. Rabbits are low cost on production yet they realise profits that are equal to or more than those realised from chicken,” said Mr Tembo.

Speaking at the same occasion, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development responsible for Livestock and Development, Cde Paddy Zhanda said the Government was committed in helping the association on the production of rabbits at commercial levels.

“We are glad that the association’s initiative will result in a comprehensive and coordinated administration and promotion of breeding, production and sale of rabbit meat in Zimbabwe on both commercial and domestic scales,’’ said Cde Zhanda.

He said Government is happy to see its citizens having a vision and a dream of self-sufficiency and full economic empowerment and also seeking to be standard bearers with regards to innovation within their spheres.

“This association and what it stands for is a manifestation of our national economic blueprint Zim-Asset under the Food Security and Nutrition Cluster, courtesy of the foresight, pragmatism and commitment of its members. To date, rabbit meat has been considered a delicacy in hotels and restaurants which is reserved for the privileged few,’’ he said.

Cde Zhanda said Government hoped that the RBPAZ initiative would result in a comprehensive and coordinated administration and promotion of breeding, production and sale of rabbit meat in Zimbabwe. The association has already started training youths, women and other new farmers on rabbit production in Harare and other towns and will soon take the programme to all provinces and rural areas.

The training covers topics on breed selection, rabbit nutrition, reproduction, rabbit health, record keeping and economics of production. The Association has also arranged with various poultry abattoirs to provide slaughter services with plans to invest in a rabbit slaughter-house which meets international standards to enable it to qualify for processing export market meat.

In South Africa, rabbit breeding, production, selling and consumption is now at a much higher level, having started in 2011.