In a city where the commercial scene is bursting with opportunity, an upcoming contender has emerged, seeking to transform the industry into money-minting enterprise.
With the unpredictable fluctuations in the economy, agri-business is the new goldmine for urban dwellers as many Kenyans are often left without a safety net to turn to and are now taking on the practice to cushion them from the hard financial times.
Rabbit farming in particular is among one of the most lucrative agri-businesses in Kenya, gaining fast popularity because of its less-demanding requirements and high monetary returns.
Rabbit Breeds
According to research conducted by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute(KARI), the most popular rabbit breeds reared are Californian, Chinchilla, New Zealand white, and Flemish Giant.
Among the breeds, the grey-brown Chinchilla is most preferred for its large mature weight. New Zealand and Californian are popular for their fur and meat.
Rabbits are among the fastest maturing domestic animals and this could prove advantageous to city dwellers, owing to the high turnover of the sales in the rabbit-rearing business.
The animals have a short gestation period of less than one month averaging between 28 to 31 days and a doe can give birth to two to eight bunnies at a go. Their maturity period is also quite short, which takes only four to five months, with the animals reproducing almost eight times annually.
Feeding Rabbits
Rabbit feeds are also relatively affordable, as they consume only 25 grams of pellets in a day, which translates to 2.25 kilograms in 90 days. On average a 2-kilogram bag of pellets costs between Ksh90 and Ksh150. Rabbits also consume organic waste, most preferably leafy vegetables which is highly nutritional as their food conversion rate is high.
The docile animals require low maintenance, and one can use the cage method for housing, which saves up on space, making it easy for people in urban areas to rear them in small parcels of land.
The coneys do not require much labour for feeding, and one can easily incorporate family labour as it is a fun and engaging activity.
Rabbit Earnings
A farmer looking to venture into commercial rabbit farming could rear them for sale, as a mature rabbit that weighs up to 4 kilograms, which could cost Kshs2,000. From this, a range of benefits present themselves to these farmers in terms of meat, skin, and urine.
Rabbit meat, which is a form of white meat, is high in protein (20.8 percent protein) giving it a commercial edge over other types of meat such as beef and mutton. One kilogram of rabbit meat costs between Ksh700 and Kshs1,000.
A tonne of rabbit skin costs Kshs200,000, which cobblers purchase to make shoes and bags that go for Kshs 2,000 a pair, or per bag.
Lucrative Waste
Rabbit urine has become increasingly popular as it is a natural pesticide and a fertilizer, and farmers are making a killing from selling the precious commodity, with one litre going for Kshs100.
In fact, Charles Owiti ,a farmer in Kenya has found value in the trade of rabbit waste and is now earning a living from it, making about Kshs60,000 a month on the venture alone.
Rabbit farmers are hence calling on the government, to help them in marketing their products in the creation of more slaughterhouses, reduction of taxation on meat products and allowing exportation of rabbit fur.
Rabbit farming has since become a veritable goldmine, which is attracting millions of farmers guaranteeing them staggering amounts of money without breaking a sweat.
