In terms of ecological aspects, the SSRPM consists of use of local building materials for constructing hutches and equipment that are obtained from renewable resources (Figure 3), rather than using materials that would contribute to deforestation, global warming or soil erosion. As an integrated or symbiotic farming system, the rabbit’s diet is based on feedstuffs that are cultivated and harvested from plots or gardens. Furthermore, integration practices involve: nutrient recycling that protects the environment, such as planting legume forage species (eg: Leucaena leucocephala and Trichanthera gigantea) to fix nitrogen into the soil; and using rabbit manure to enrich soil fertility, increase water-holding capacity, and support beneficial soil micro-organisms. Lukefahr and Preston (1999) presented additional models of integration for sustainable rabbit farming, including rearing of rabbits in hutches over Tilapia fish ponds and rearing of guinea pigs or Muscovy ducks below rabbit hutches. To offset dependence on chemical fertilizers, rabbit manure has been used as a medium for horticultural, greenhouse or nursery plants, or for vermiculture (earthworm production). Worms are either sold for cash (fish bait) or fed to poultry or swine as a low-cost protein supplement (Rodrguez et al 1995). Finzi and Amici (1989) reported the feeding of rabbit slaughter wastes to Muscovy ducks to minimize dependence and costs of commercial feeds produced from intensive and environmentally non-sustainable farming systems.
A salient feature of the SSRPM is that sustainable measures can be readily adopted by the limited-resource farmer, which also lend themselves well to diversification (combination of other crop and livestock activities) to further ensure food and economic security. In contrast, in commercial operations it is oftentimes simply not feasible to maintain sustainable or diversified systems due to labor and (or) economic constraints.
Ideally, and especially from a humanitarian aid standpoint, the rabbit project or enterprise should be designed such that farmers engage at minimal investment and operation costs, including labour. Minimal investment and operation costs are both realized if renewable resources (eg: local building materials, feedstuffs and breeding stock) are available and properly utilized. If a favourable economic environment exists, such that limited-resource farmers are not exposed to major economic risk, then sustainability is certainly made possible. Moreover, benefits from meat consumption and sales of surplus stock should readily offset all expenses, and make significant contributions to diet quality and income. Lukefahr and Cheeke (1991) developed a 5-year cost and returns budget that included an economic analysis (eg: opportunity cost, return to labour, and comparative advantage), which strongly justified small-scale rabbit enterprises.
For any alternative agricultural enterprise, including rabbit production, an economic incentive to produce must be justified. Farmers will certainly abandon their rabbit enterprise unless strong markets exist. Markets have to be secured or established if a regional rabbit program is to succeed. Potential markets that can be created include, for example, traditional open markets, farmer’s cooperative markets, food stores, cafes, street vendors, hotels, schools and hospitals. A desirable economic situation in some countries is where the market price of a rabbit fryer is less than that of a broiler chicken (to make rabbit meat highly competitive), but where the profit margin is higher for rabbits. Where stable markets do exist, it is imperative that farmers are not tempted to sell more rabbits than what they should be consuming so as not to sacrifice the desired nutritional impact of the program. Farmers can be trained the vital lesson to “eat two and sell one” to always emphasize the primary nutritional goal for rabbit programs in the LDC’s.
Social sustainability
A sustainable and alternative (small-scale) rabbit program will more than likely be accepted by the rural community if the community itself is involved in the initial planning stages, and continually participates in decision-making aspects (eg: who will receive rabbit training and breeding stock). This “participatory approach” to development is highly recommended by World Hunger Organizations because it engenders a strong sense of project ownership among participants, among other direct benefits. A positive social environment of acceptance has other dimensions, as well. To illustrate, are women allowed to engage in agricultural projects or be supervised on their farms by male extension workers? Do husbands allow their wives to handle money earned from rabbit sales? Are children encouraged, even rewarded, to participate in the rabbit enterprise so as to thwart the chances of them abandoning farming as a possible career and instead migrate to urban centres? Ideally, the target community should address all such relevant social aspects in planning the project, especially if a proposal is to be prepared and submitted for formal support and (or) sponsorship by a funding agency.
In recent years, an emergence of rabbit development projects directed at women and children has occurred. One recent project is a women-managed, rabbit project in Mexico (Gomez 2002). Both social status and income levels increased as a direct benefit. In Bangladesh, a regional survey revealed that 65% of women and 26% of children were the sole managers of rabbit enterprises (Paul et al 2000). In Cameroon, Lukefahr et al (2000) reported how Heifer International, a humanitarian hunger organization, uses rabbits as a top priority project to elevate the social status of impoverished women and to improve the diet quality for their families. “Gender awareness” projects bring women together and engage them in leadership and (or) organizational, management, and marketing activities. Rabbit projects have also been designed for children by introducing rabbit projects at schools. The rabbit’s diet is typically based on kitchen “wastes”; rabbit lessons are incorporated into the agricultural curriculum; rabbit meat is served in cafeterias; and children later introduce rabbits in their home villages. Rabbit projects have also been aimed at orphaned children or AIDS victims because of the simple advantages of rabbits, including low start-up costs. In the context of development, sustainability could even be defined by World Hunger Organizations as those projects that were subsequently managed by the community, independent of technical assistance or funding, that continually impacted the lives of a multitude of rural and peri-urban based, limited-resource families. As a planning guide, a general checklist form is commonly used to screen projects for funding, in part, on the basis of the external factors described in Table 2.