“Rabbit farming is easy”: Perspectives from rabbit farmers in Kabale, Uganda

Abstract

In 2012, Kigezi Healthcare Foundation (KIHEFO) in southwest Uganda launched the Rabbit Farming Project to empower families and communities to overcome poverty and improve nutrition through small-scale rabbit farming. This qualitative study describes participant perspectives of rabbit farming and the Rabbit Farming Project in Kabale, Uganda. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 46 rabbit farmers. Themes that emerged included the ease of rabbit farming; nutrition, income, and agricultural benefits; housing and animal health and safety barriers; the commercial impact of COVID-19; KIHEFO support; and infrastructure, resources, and guidance recommendations. Rabbit farming was central to survival and participants described the ease of rabbit farm­ing as a key factor even while not all were aware of the role of KIHEFO in facilitating regional rabbit farming. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected commercial farmers, while subsistence farmers thrived. We found that rabbit farming provides local and sustainable income-generation and nutritional benefits, but it requires resources to build community capacity. Evidence from this research can be applied to similar communities across the globe to promote food security, poverty relief, and empowerment for vulnerable commu­nities through rabbit farming.