Rabbit production and consumption in South Africa

[摘要] English: The needs, perceptions and attitudes of potential consumers and producerswith regard to consumption and production of rabbit products in Moqhaka,Ngwathe and Matjhabeng local municipalities are analysed in this study. Theconsumers in aforementioned local municipalities consume common livestockmeats such as chicken, mutton, beef and pork. The consumers prefer lean meat.Pork is the most disliked meat by the majority of the surveyed consumers dueto stomach problem that it causes when consumed. Pension and casual formsof employment are common sources of income among the African householdssurveyed.The African and Coloured communities showed more interest in theconsumption of rabbit products than the White communily. The main attributethat will encourage the African and Coloured communities to consume rabbitproducts is its lean meat that is suitable for heart disease patients and peoplewho are over weight. The members of the White population will use rabbitproducts mainly in the form of rabbit fur apparels and manure. The 'Whitecommunity showed to have more knowledge about the potential attributes of rabbit products such as meat rich in protein, low on fat, manure suitable forvegetable growing as well as the ability of rabbit fur to make clothes. Rabbitmeat was subjected to sensory taste analysis in a bid to determine consumerpreference and taste with regard to meat consumption. Rabbit meat wascompared to chicken, mutton and beef. Mutton was the most preferred meatby the panelists. However, the differences in the rank sums were all notstatistically significant to justify preference of one meat over the other. Thiscould be attributed to the tasting panel which was selected from a broad socioeconomicbackground and was familiar with at least seventy five percent of thetested meat types. Some members of the tasting panel were familiar with allthe meat types. The small-scale farmers in Moqhaka, Ngwathe and Matjhabeng localmunicipalities are currently involved in both Ianning and non-farmingactivities which they depend upon for survival. The farming activities includelivestock and vegetable production while the non-farming activities includesewing, selling of fat cakes and so forth. The majority of producers andconsumers have superficial knowledge about the potential of rabbit productionand its products. The surveyed producers are faced with a number ofproblems such as lack of financial resources, lack of storage facilities andreliable form of transport in order to run their activities efficiently. Thiscondition necessitates the formulation of a well co-ordinated supportprogramme. The formulated programme would determine what form ofproduction credit would be best suited for the rabbit producers in the differentproduction areas. The enterprise budgets formulated indicate that the rabbitenterprise is not only a cost-effective enterprise but also profitable. This isshown by the low cost production ratio and high returns to investment whencompared to other enterprises. An investigation of the international market.shows Europe as the most attractive and largest market for rabbit products.

[发布机构] University of the Free State