Farmer earns millions from rabbit farming
Oct 20, 2020
At the moment, a kilogram of rabbit meat goes for between sh28,000 and sh35,000.
FARMING|RABBITS|HARVEST MONEY
NAKASEKE - There is a big market for rabbit meat both in Uganda and the region, however, the delicacy has been let down by inconsistent supply.
"I have the market and to sustain it, I need at least 200 rabbit farmers with 100 mothering rabbits," Mukasa Mu-Awiya, a rabbit farmer in Kapeeka, Nakaseke district says.
Mukasa made the appeal while training over 100 farmers on the basics of rabbit farming, Saturday (October 10, 2020) at his farm in Kapeeka.
Mukasa's farm has 600 breeding does, all imported from Kenya and other countries.
Each is valued at sh120, 000, giving the mother stock an estimated value of sh72m with each producing at least 38 kits per year, meaning the farm produces at least 22,800 rabbits per year.
The offsprings go for around sh60, 000 each depending on their weight after 5 months.
"If we get 200 farmers with 100 breeders, this means that each of the farmers can produce at least 3,600 kits each year, making 360,000 kits per year in total. That will go a long way in sustaining the current market," Mukasa says.
Mukasa's farm has 600 breeding does, all imported from Kenya and other countries.
He said that if farmers show interest, they can be supported to sustain their investment.
Grabbing the potential
Mukasa says that in recent years, rabbit meat has gradually found its way on the table of many Ugandan elites and corporates, adding that there are hotels and restaurants that serve rabbit meat, yet supply remains very low.
"At the moment, a kilogram goes for between sh28,000 and sh35,000, so to satisfy the Ugandan market, a ton of rabbit meat should be produced each day and those on average are 1, 000 rabbits if the whole common weight is considered or about 500 if we use the improved breeds," he says.
There is certainly money to be made through practicing rabbitry.
"I have a big market for rabbits and their meat. I have orders from customers all the time. Everything that has to be sold that you see inside here has already been ordered for," Mukasa said he walked around the expansive rabbit house.