ZICORBA assists Botswana rabbit farmers
BUSINESS REPORTER
Botswana has tapped into the expertise of the Zimbabwe’s rabbit industry as it seek to establish the first rabbit abattoir in Francistown, top officials have confirmed.
Zimbabwe’s rabbit industry is on the ascend with the recent opening of the country’s first rabbit abattoir. The US$1m abattoir, is one of the biggest in Africa.
The Harare-based rabbit meat processing facility, which was commissioned in September 2021, has a capacity to slaughter between 2.5 tonnes and 3.5 tonnes of rabbit per eight-hour shift per day. It has so far been well-received by rabbit farmers across Zimbabwe.
Botswana’s Northern Rabbit Breeders Association (NORBA) president Timbu Iris Ntjenje said her organisation had approached its Zimbabwean counterpart to help Batswana establish a rabbit abattoir in Francistown, the second biggest city in the country.
“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 Francis Town,” the NORBA boss told Bunny World.
“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 rabbit 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,” Ntjenje said.
Botswana is a mineral and agriculture-rich landlocked southern African country with a population of over 2m.
Zimbabwe Commercial Rabbit Breeders Association president Regis Nyamakanga said cuniculture production was catching-on like wild-fire in Africa.
“In addition to our talks with the Batswana, I also recently spoke to the president of Zambian rabbit producers who also sought our advice on how to set up a rabbit abattoir in Zambia.
“They wanted a facility that slaughters about 300 rabbits per day. We shared our experience with them. We are also aware of plans in Nigeria to set up rabbit slaughter facilities as part of a government-funded initiative,” Nyamakanga said.
