ZICORBA eyes local rabbit pellets production
BUSINESS REPORTER
The Zimbabwe Commercial Rabbit Breeders Association (ZICORBA) has engaged top experts to help it produce rabbit pellets amid rising cost of stockfeed as it moves to halt the erosion on farmers’ profit margins.
Stockfeed accounts for 70% of the cost of rabbit production.
The association’s president Regis Nyamakanga said the pellet-making project, to be launched this month and implemented in phases, will lower the cost of production by about 30 to 50% and in turn enable rabbit meat to compete effectively with other types of meat such as pork, fish, chicken and beef.
“We have assembled a team of experts to work with us in producing our own feed. The process will entail training of our own people on feed formulation and mixing, engaging
farmers to produce essential ingredients for the production of rabbit pellets and commissioning of the pellet making plant,” he told Bunny World.
A medium-scale pellet-making machine had already been procured, he said adding that more such machines would be imported soon and commissioned in different parts of the country to ensure that farmers have easy access to the ZICORBA pellets.
The ZICORBA pellets are expected to hit the market in the next 6 to 12 months, he said.
“The prices of rabbit pellets have shot up in recent months and the situation is threatening to drive many farmers out of business. As a representative body of rabbit farmers, we could
not allow this to go unchecked. We had to take action,” Nyamakanga said.
Other input costs include rabbit cages, medicines, breeding stock and labour, the prices of which have also been on a rise for several months making rabbit production less competitive compared to other types of livestock.
The ZICORBA chief said the association had to devise ways to temporarily manage the rising costs. This included negotiating for price discounts with leading stockfeed companies such as Agrifoods, Capital Foods, National Foods and Hyperfeed, he said.
“We are also about to finalise a deal with GAIN, a leading distributor of stockfeed, for our farmers to access rabbit pellets at a discount from their 166 branches dotted across the country. While these measures bring relief to our farmers, we are acutely
aware that this is not sustainable. We need a lasting solution to the persistent increases in the cost of rabbit feed hence the plan to produce our own rabbit pellets,” Nyamakanga said.
Since its formation in July 2020, ZICORBA has been promoting the production of rabbits to improve the livelihoods of about 1.8 million households in Zimbabwe, create employment for youth and women and contribute to the country’s gross domestic product.
There are immense benefits associated with eating rabbit meat.
More than 1m tonnes of rabbit meat are consumed worldwide per year, accounting for about $7.5bn in revenue.
The global meat market is projected to surge to 1.8m tonnes over the next three years from 1.5m tonnes, according to a report by market research firm IndexBox.
In its latest report, IndexBox said China would retain its position as the biggest consumer of rabbit meat globally, followed by North Korea and Egypt.
“China was the main market for rabbit meat in the last couple of years, accounting for 62% (925,000 tonnes) of the world’s total consumption (1.5 million tonnes), followed by North Korea (154,000 tonnes) and Egypt (57,000 tonnes),” the research firm said.
