BUJUMBURA September 26th (ABP) – Rabbit farming (rabbit breeding) is one of the profitable projects that young people can carry out to create employment, testified Mr. Patrick Ngendakumana, president of the cooperative young committed entrepreneurs from Bubanza, COJEEBU, during an interview he gave to ABP, Friday September 22, 2023 in Bujumbura.
Met during an exhibition of products from projects financed by the youth economic empowerment and employment program (PAEEJ), Mr. Ngendakumana said that after completing his studies, he is not failed to be hired by the public service. “I met ten other unemployed people and suggested that we form a cooperative to carry out the rabbit breeding project which we deemed profitable due to the fact that rabbits multiply quickly.” “We went to YouTube to gather information related to rabbit breeding. They accepted the project and each contributed 40 thousand BIF to total a sum of 400 BIF. A few weeks before the start of our project, the PAEEJ launched a competition and we presented our project which was selected.” “We received a credit of 9 million Fbu which was added to our contributions. »
“With this capital of 9,400,000 BIF, we built a large hutch for 35 rabbits. After four months, we have 180 rabbits weighing between 3 to 4 kg,” he underlined, adding that a rabbit is bought at 30 thousand BIF and more.
According to Mr. Ngendakumana, rabbits eat 80% of grass and feed for their growth.
He said that apart from meat, rabbit urine plays an important role in the agricultural field, specifying that they are used as biological pesticides and do not present any disadvantage to human health. They are also used as organic fertilizers, without effects unlike chemical fertilizers which have disadvantages. Poured into fish ponds, they can serve as nutrients for the rapid growth of fish. Rabbit urine also generates income; a liter costs 6 thousand Fbu while a can costs more than 100 thousand Fbu. According to him, COJEEBU totals approximately 500 thousand Fbu each month from urine.
The COJEEBU president said he was satisfied with the step already taken because after six months of activities, the cooperative recorded a turnover which he estimated at more than 25 million. He advised unemployed young people to tackle development work, to dare to undertake to create jobs because the public service does not have jobs to grant to all young people.
He specified that apart from the ten shareholders, COJEEBU has already given employment to two young people who are paid monthly. There is also a veterinarian who takes care of the care and the one who takes care of the construction of the hutches, who are paid temporarily after having provided their services.
Regarding the challenges, the COJEEBU president pointed out the death of little rabbits which leads to losses. The latter need very special monitoring because they are very fragile.