Online Reporter
Oliver Kazunga
Senior Business Reporter
GOVERNMENT is forging ahead with initiatives to promote best practices in rabbit farming to contribute to the broader economic growth and industrialisation agenda of Vision 2030.
The Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services chief director, Mr Leonard Munamati, whose department falls under the purview of the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development said this at a rabbit training workshop organised by the Zimbabwe Commercial Rabbit Breeders Association (ZICORBA) in Harare on Saturday.
“Through Public-Private Partnerships, extension services, and capacity building initiatives like this one, we are empowering farmers to adopt best practices in rabbit husbandry, breeding, health management, and value addition,” he said.
“By doing so, we are not only improving household incomes, but also contributing to the broader economic growth and industrialisation agenda of Vision 2030.
Through the Department of Livestock Production and Development, Mr Munamati said, the Government believes collaborative efforts with stakeholders like ZICORBA can go a long way in standardising knowledge and equipping farmers with the requisite knowledge.
“Since ZICORBA’s formation in 2020, what was once viewed as a backyard operation has rapidly transformed into a thriving and organised economic activity, contributing meaningfully to employment creation, household income generation, and food and nutrition security,” he said.
“In line with the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS 1) and the Livestock Recovery and Growth Plan, the Government has prioritised diversification and commercialisation of livestock production.”
Mr Munamati noted that rabbit farming fits into the Livestock Recovery and Growth Plan by enhancing protein availability, promoting sustainable farming as well as employment creation and entrepreneurship opportunities, especially for smallholder farmers.
In this context, the local cuniculture industry has the potential to uplift the livelihoods of over 1,8 million households, generating employment opportunities for youths and women while contributing to Gross Domestic Product, and ultimately becoming a foreign currency earner for Zimbabwe.
“The country now boasts one of the largest rabbit abattoirs in Africa, and we are breaking new ground in value-added rabbit products, including rabbit sausages, burgers, pies, samosas, polony, and even rabbit pizzas,” said Mr Munamati.
In an interview, Raymeg Consultants Private Limited executive director Mrs Paida Nyamakanga, whose organisation is one of the corporate members of ZICORBA, said they have started initiatives to grow the sector through capacity building programmes.
“At the moment, we have started taking initiatives to grow the sector by offering training and also making follow-ups on the farmers who are under our rabbit rollout programme,” she said.
“In addition, we are continuing with our value addition project, currently making rabbit burgers, rabbit biltong, rabbit sausages, rabbit polony, rabbit pies, as well as rabbit sausage rolls. Recently, we introduced rabbit hot dogs and we are excited with the prospects in the industry and we’ll continue to engage as many farmers as we can so that we can have enough capacity to supply the market.”
Peter Tanyanyiwa