Farmers Reap the Benefits of Rabbits:
By Zhang Qisan, Heifer International China & Bóthar Program Assistant
In China Bothar work very closely with its project partners Heifer International. Heifer international has been working with rabbit programs in China since the mid eighties and applied to Bóthar to receive funding to support some of its projects.
One of the farmers that received support from Bóthar is Wang Jiafu who lives in Liangpin Village in the Jin Yan Township. There are three people in his family. He has only a small plot of land and because of this he did not have the room to grow his few crops and house a larger animal. So Wang Jiafu was given the gift of a trio of rabbits consisting of a does and one buck and training in how to successfully breed them. After three month the first litters arrived. A female rabbit can have between 4-6 litters a year, with each litter containing an average of 8 young kits.
Soon Wang Jiafu began earning money at the local market by selling rabbits and some the crops he had been growing. Motivated by the good profits he has seen from his rabbits, he planned to work even harder so as to make twice as much next time he went to the market place. Using the farming techniques that he had received in his training and the rabbit manure Wang Jiafu was able to increase the number and the quality of the crops he was growing. With the extra income he is earning Wang Jiafu has been able to provide for his families needs and improve their diet. He has also begun to renovate and enlarge his rabbitry with a goal of increasing his income even more.
Many of the farmers in Liangpin Village have greatly benefited from the animals and training they’ve received. Their rabbits have improved their quality of life, and continue to ensure increasing profits for all involved.
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