Online Reporter
Oliver Kazunga
Senior Business Reporter
THE Government has challenged local rabbit farmers to embrace value addition to improve viability and ensure long-term sustainability of the cunniculture industry.
In recent years, the country’s rabbit-rearing industry has been dormant, but since the launch of the Zimbabwe Commercial Rabbit Breeders Association (ZICORBA) in July 2021, the sector has gone through a massive transformation.
This is on the back of a raft of strategies ZICORBA is implementing targeting to generate over US$2,5 million from domestic sales within five years in line with the aspirations of the Livestock Growth Plan.
The Livestock Growth Plan is part of the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy launched by the Government with a view of growing the livestock sector to a US$1,9 billion economy by the end of this year.
Speaking at a recent training workshop in Mutare organised by ZICORBA on fundamentals of commercial rabbit farming, Manicaland Provincial director of economic affairs Mr Munyaradzi Rubaya said: “To maximize profits from rabbit farming, farmers need to think beyond just raising rabbits.
“Value addition is crucial to increasing the worth of rabbit products and transforming the venture into a more profitable enterprise.”
He said farmers should “think beyond just raising rabbits” and focus on transforming their products to enhance market value exploring the full economic potential of rabbit production through value-added products such as processed meat, leather goods made from hides, and organic fertilizers derived from manure.
Mr Rubaya called for greater collaboration among farmers to lower production costs, improve market access, and boost efficiency.
Since its establishment, ZICORBA has been instrumental in equipping farmers with the practical knowledge and technical skills needed to unlock opportunities across the rabbit value chain.
The commercial rabbit breeders’ association has members nationwide and has been at the forefront of commercialising rabbit farming in Zimbabwe, including establishing the country’s first rabbit abattoir and developing rabbit meat products.
