AVANT GARDENER
2023 is the year of the rabbit, which is a wonderful coincidence because the local rabbit industry continues its steady growth in the livestock sector.
Many cultures breed rabbits for meat, but in the Philippines, they are still mostly seen as pets. Many people will cite the rabbit’s cuteness as the reason behind their hesitance to try it, but this is slowly changing as more Filipinos encounter rabbit dishes overseas, and most importantly, because of the efforts of rabbit raisers in the country.
Two such people are Art and Angie Veneracion, the husband and wife team behind AVEN Nature’s Farm in Baliuag, Bulacan who are also longtime columnists of Agriculture Magazine. We’d been in contact for a while but it was only this week that I had the time and opportunity to visit their farm. Art gave me a tour of their facilities while Angie prepared a delicious lunch which, of course, featured rabbit meat, specifically rabbit adobo and rabbit curry. Rabbit works well in Filipino stewed dishes, though I was very intrigued when Art said that his favorite way to serve rabbit is smoked.
The Veneracions have been farming rabbits since 2012, just as a few years after they retired from the garment industry. Like many Filipinos, their dream was to own their own farm business. They started as an integrated farm but decided to focus on rabbits when they realized its potential as a food source. Not only did they establish a rabbit farm, they also made it their mission to support local rabbit livestock farming, which includes building a community of rabbit growers and working with the government to promote and benchmark the industry.
Rabbit farming
AVEN is located in a quiet community just before the town proper. It doesn’t look like a farm at first glance, because it’s fronted by a house, but once you enter the gate to the side, you are transported to the idyllic quiet that only a place rooted in nature can offer.
The first thing you see is the lecture area, an open-air veranda filled with chairs, tables, and teaching and office equipment. This is where Art conducts his lectures, and it also doubles as an al fresco dining area.
A few feet away, separated by a curtain of tarpaulin, is the beginning of the farm proper. There are rabbits in grow out cages. There’s an area that looks like it’s being readied for crops, and beyond that, an Association of Rabbit Meat Producers, Inc. (ARaMP)-owned breeding facility —a quiet, well ventilated singles storey building that houses does and their kits.
According to their website, ARaMP “endeavors to increase the awareness of the Filipino people about rabbit production as a viable source of income and to popularize rabbit meat as an alternative source of protein and good nutrition.” Art is the organization’s current president and chairman, while Angie is its current secretary.
Strict biosecurity measures are practiced. The great part about being an emerging industry is that it’s an opportunity to set and enforce Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), which is important if one wants to gain acceptance in the mainstream. As early as now, ARaMP stresses the importance of professionalizing rabbit production, whether they are raised in a backyard or on a farm. The ARaMP also works closely with animal rights advocates to ensure that the rabbits are raised and processed under humane conditions.
Meat and other products
Meat and meat products aren't the only products an enterprising rabbit farmer can sell. The Veneracions have developed a low tech and highly replicable system for collecting rabbit urine and manure, which are in high demand as plant fertilizers. The manure is collected in a tray underneath the cages, while underneath that, a weighted tarpaulin funnels the urine into a bowl for easy harvesting.
During my visit, someone came to buy rabbit manure, hauling away as many sacks as their pickup truck could carry. The buyer said they wanted to buy more, except that there was no more room. ARaMP sells rabbit manure for ₱40 a kilo or ₱300 a sack (we didn’t have information on the exact weight for this). Rabbit urine goes for ₱40 a liter.
They’re also developing a market for rabbit pelt (what their fur is called) and rabbits foot keychains, which is considered a good luck charm in some cultures.
Spreading the word
Slow and steady wins the race, and, working more like the turtle than the hare in the famous fable, the Veneracions, together with their fellow members of the ARaMP, continue to promote rabbit meat as a healthy, nutritious, reasonably priced protein source, something important, especially during this time of food insecurity.