Rabbit Farming a viable option for Urban and Peri-urban Farmers.

 Anywalonino Earthworm Farmers’ Co-operative Society Ltd a leading farmer’s institution in Vermiculture Agri-business Village Model has integrated rabbitry in her farming model to diversify the members’ sources of income. Rabbitry is fast becoming a profitable enterprise to mitigate hitherto challenges of youth unemployment, lack of empowerment of women, elderly.

Rabbits has a number of attractive production characteristics, such as short generation interval, high reproductive potential, rapid growth rate, genetic diversity and the ability to utilize forages and by-products as major diet.

SPECIES OF RABBIT.

There are many species of rabbit available in Uganda, among those include New Zealand white, black and red, Belgium white and chinchilla are most favorite.

RABBIT MEAT QUALITY.

The rabbit meat is high in protein, low in fat, highly palatable, low in cholesterol and can be substituted for poultry in most recipes. Although domestic rabbits were introduced in Uganda by Christian missionaries’ in 1870s commercialization of the enterprise is quite a new phenomenon because for a long time it was considered a pet and child-like business.

CAGE METHOD OF RAISING RABBIT

With a shoe string budget and minimal initial investment capital, small holder farmer can rear within a small space a thousand rabbits. In this system rabbit are kept in cages made of iron plate and wooden structure as support, in every cage there should be drinkers and the housing should facilitate easy collection of droppings and urine collection. Male and female rabbit should be kept separate from each other, they are brought together in the same rod when thy need mating to produce baby rabbits.

FOOD MANAGEMENT

Food consuming rate and nutrient requirements varies according to the rabbit age and species. For proper nutrition of an adult rabbit its food should contain 17-18 per cent crude protein,14 percent fiber,7 percent minerals and 2700 kilo calorie/kg of metabolic energy.

MARKET ANALYSIS

The demand for rabbit meat is very high mostly among the Ugandan nationals in urban areas because of its white meat, high protein, low in fat and cholesterol and above all it is consumed by all religious sects.The neighboring countries like Congo, central African Republic, south Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Arab countries has high market potential only by having consistent and mass production.

BENEFITS OF RABBIT FARMING

ü  The rabbit droppings can be used as feedstock for earthworm in vermicomposting system.

ü  Rabbit urine can be used to formulate pesticide and liquid fertilizer.

ü  Excess urine can be sold to other peri-urban farmers as fertilizer for backyard gardening i.e flower gardens.

ü  Hides and skins are sources of residual income.

ü  Fur of rabbits are medicinal traditionally used for curing burns.

ü  Rabbit is a very fast breeding animal.

ü  Their food converting rate is better than other animals.

ü  One female rabbit can give birth to 2-8 baby rabbits at a monthly interval.

ü  Rabbit can be raised in a small space which is economical for urban farmers with less land practicing one hectare models.

ü  Waste materials of kitchen, grass, plant leaves are favorite food of rabbit helping in bio waste conversion.

ü  It is less laborers compared to poultry farming.

 

CURRENT CHALLENGES FACED BY RABBIT FARMERS

ü  Inputs. Since most farmers feed their rabbits on forage and kitchen wastes, the feed industry mostly pellet feeds has not fully developed, unlike poultry there are no specialized dealers in manufacture and sale of other inputs like the rabbit mesh, feeders and drinkers.

ü  Services. There are few specialized veterinary and advisory services, most of the advice given tend to be related to poultry yet rabbits are mammals which is physiologically different. The veterinary assistance which otherwise should be accessed from drug shops find dealers with no information on rabbits.

ü  Most farmers concentrate on production and sale of breeding stock and pays minimal attention to marketing of principal product rabbit meat.

ü  Predators and thieves the reduce farmers stock leading to loss of morale to continue and expand.

ü  Lack of government support because of the few farmers in the industry.

ü  Processing and marketing: Like inputs level, this is another area where there is almost no players and yet for most of the individual farmers slaughtering a rabbit is a nightmare, dressing of meat and packaging.

CO-OPERATIVE CORE AREA OF INTERVENTION TO MITIGATE CHALLENGES.

ü  Training of members and out growers in rabbit farming including schools and institution as youth livelihood projects.

ü  Supplying farmers with the right breeds and quality rabbits for rearing.

ü  Production of rabbit pellets for improve production.

ü  Sourcing for market through our linkages and marketing platforms.

ü  Opening restaurants in major urban areas specializing in rabbit meat tailored services to create local demand and absorption.

ü  Lobbying for support from government, development partners to support rabbit supports to increase household income.

ü  Opening a mini-rabbit meat processing unit to bridge the gap of value addition to attract international market.

Mass production and supply pesticides, liquid fertilizers to farmers in urban and peri-urban areas.

CAGE SYSTEM OF RABBIT FARMING INTEGRATED WITH VERMICULTURE

Beatrice a Co-operative member extracting rabbit urine with her children during Corona lockdown

A child feeding her earthworms reared using a basin.

Board Chairman Emmanuel Odur training officials of Young Farmers Federation of Uganda and Lira District Young Farmers Association in Vermiculture Agribusiness Model at His Farm.