BY MTHANDAZO NYONI
THE Zimbabwe Commercial Rabbit Breeders Association (Zicorba) and Raymeg Consultants Group (Raymeg) have clinched a pellet price reduction deal with top stockfeed companies in a bid to fight the ballooning cost of cuniculture in the country.
Cuniculture is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising domestic rabbits as livestock for their meat, fur, or wool.
Zicorba president Regis Nyamakanga revealed in a newsletter that Zimbabwe’s leading stockfeed producers Capital Foods, Agrifoods and National Foods had agreed to a deal, which would see the association’s members accessing rabbit pellets from Raymeg retail outlets at discounted prices.
“Zicorba members will be accessing the discounted rabbit pellets from the Raymeg retail outlet situated at the Harare Agricultural Showgrounds.
“Plans are afoot to open more Raymeg retail outlets in other parts of the country to ensure that all Zicorba members benefit from this facility,” Nyamakanga said.
“This is part of Zicorba’s strategy of addressing the key challenges that Zimbabwean rabbit farmers are facing.”
Pellets, breeding stock, housing, labour, hay, medicine and water are among key costs of producing rabbits, with pellets accounting for the lion’s share.
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Capital Foods sales director Owen Nyoni said his firm was committed to supporting rabbit farmers in Zimbabwe to reach their full potential while National Foods sales executive Sarudzai Muzorori said her firm would continue to play its part in the growth and development of rabbit farming in the country by ensuring that farmers have access to top quality and affordable feeds.
Agrifoods marketing manager Luke Mutemeri said his company would ensure that rabbit farmers continue to have access to “affordable and quality feed”.
Nyamakanga said as from this month, all rabbit farmers that are members of Zicorba would be issued with chip-based membership cards that would give them access to the discount facility.
The rabbit industry is one of the fastest growing sectors globally, with statistics showing that over four billion kilogrammes are consumed worldwide with some countries in Europe importing between US$20 million to US$33 million worth of rabbits annually.
In Zimbabwe, the sector is still growing.
