PUERTO PRINCESA, Palawan – The Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) sets foot into the realm of providing further support services for the Philippine rabbitry industry through the Training Course on the Fundamentals of Rabbitry Production and Designing for Urban and Peri-urban Areas.
Contextualized for the development of rabbitry value chain in the urban and peri-urban areas, the training gathered the 30 focal persons and technical staff of the Institute and some representatives from the ATI accredited Learning Sites for Agriculture who have potentials in developing rabbit enterprises in their respective areas.
The course comprised of lectures on the situation and potential of the rabbit industry in the Philippines, common contexts and terminologies in rabbit production, rabbit breeding, and rabbitry facilities design and equipment, rabbit health and nutrition practices, including the typologies of feeds, cleaning and sanitation; and rabbit slaughtering and meat packaging. The course also included an in-depth discussion on the Rabbit – Code of Practice – Good Animal Husbandry Practices, particularly the PNS/BAFS 374:2023, which articulates the general principles of good practice and minimum requirements in the production of rabbits for breeding and human consumption. This was to reiterate the legitimacy of ensuring high quality standards in carrying out activities for the rabbit industry.
The President of the Association of Rabbit Meat Producers in the Philippines, Artemio Veneracion, Jr., served as the resource person throughout the event and expressed high hopes that this course would yield more learners and rabbitry practitioners in the different regions of the country, especially in the urban and peri-urban areas where a demand for alternative meat sources are also projected.
During the last part of the course, the participants visited the Patio Agricultural Farm in Puerto Princesa, Palawan where the interactive workshop on rabbit sex determination, rabbit breeding and actual mating, rabbit slaughtering and preparation of a rabbit-based meal were also conducted.
As an output, the participants were tasked to develop the instructional materials of the various lessons under the course, to streamline the delivery of topics on rabbitry training across the country.
This activity was held last December 2 to 6, 2024 in this city.
