Kiambu county residents have been advised to rear rabbits as a source of income since the industry has a huge market which is yet to be exploited locally.
Speaking in his office, Limuru livestock officer Joseph Mbugua said rabbit meat is now on high demand compared to the previous years where they were used as pets in various homesteads.
Mbugua says 500 farmers have benefited from the free training which they launched across the county a few months ago when farmers volunteered to be trained on the same.
He appealed to the graduates to go to the grassroots and equip young farmers with knowledge of rabbit rearing.
“Those who benefited should share the skills and knowledge they acquired to empower more people in the area.” Mbugua said.
Mercy Wangari, a graduate farmer at Kamirithu in Limuru says that for the past five years, rabbits has been her source of income and even gone far ahead to form a group of 20 trainees to venture into the business.
She says they offer training on all aspects of farming that include production, how to set up a rabbit farm, cage construction, farming levels and marketing once after every two months at a cost of Sh2,000 per session.
Wangari cautioned farmers to keep the recommended breeds of rabbits, go for regular training and encourage other farmers so that they can sell the meat at an average of Sh550 per kilogram.