By George Munene

Topz Rabbits is seeking out rabbit farmers from across the country to help meet the ballooning appetite for the tasty low in calorie and saturated fats white rabbit meat. Currently selling 100 kilograms of raw meat daily—up to one tonne in two weeks—James Mugoh, the company’s head of sales and logistics, says these numbers are still too low, and in an effort to bolster their supplies they are looking to obtain rabbits from across the country as they also work to recruit rabbit farmers.

Topz which has been in the rabbit business for six years now has embarked on a farmer contracting program of up to 2000 rabbit farmers, a move the company hopes will ensure its abattoirs have a steady supply of meat. “We have had some farmers express interest in partnering with us, but we would love to have even more of them visiting our offices and coming on board,” Mugoh says.

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The company headquartered at Rosters, Garden Estate in Nairobi, collects a minimum of 50 rabbits from farmers within Nairobi and 80 rabbits from those in other counties. Rabbit keepers with numbers less than that have to transport them to the firm's premises themselves. The buying price per kilogram dressed weight is Sh450 and Sh225 for the live weight.

“We would like to delve into value addition in the form of sausage and samosas, but at current supply rates, we have to sell all our meat raw— with which we are still well short of meeting the market’s demand for,” James explains.

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In Makuyu, Muranga County, the company runs its own rabbit farm rearing rabbits for slaughter as well as hosting farmers looking to learn the ropes on rabbit farming at a charge of Sh1000 per head. Everything related to rabbit rearing—cages, feeders, watering systems, rabbit medicines are available for purchase by farmers. The company also has a rabbit veterinarian available to farmers its farmers.

Topz Rabbits: 0723301507/0701735183