RABBIT PRODUCTION VIS-À-VIS POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND FOOD SECURITY IN ASIA

Abstract

This paper aims to create awareness among the public about the importance of rabbit farming to meet food crisis in the future. Rabbits can be easily reared by small-scale farmers in their  backyard  with  minimal  investments  for  more  income  generation.  Rabbits  make  use  of forages of low nutritive value to produces highly nutritious meat and the faeces of the rabbits can  be  used  as  an  alternative  to  inorganic  fertilizer,  this  interaction  between  rabbits  and  soil makes rabbit farming suitable for integrated farming system. Waste of  rabbits make excellent compost which in turn makes high quality organic fertilizer. The rabbit faeces were used in the manufacture  of  bio-digesters  and  the  fertilizer  value  of  the  faeces  aids  to  improve  the environment  by  reducing  methane  emissions.  Feeding  and  housing  management  of  rabbits were not much complicated. Rabbit house can be made from locally available materials and the rabbits can be fed with household wastes and the forages and legumes that can be cultivated within the farmers own farm, that should meet the animals daily needs. Thus the construction and off farm feed costs will be reduced. This makes sure that the rabbit farming will be well accepted by small scale farmers to meet both their nutritious and financial requirements. The farmers can also expand their farm to a commercial level, if guidance, knowledge and technical supports were provided and this makes the market to flood with rabbit in the future which is the only way for food security and employment generation.