PhD in Sustainable development and cooperation

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Supervisor

Phd thesis

Currently, rabbit has become the second most important animal species in Europe in terms of the number of animals reared (EFSA Journal, 2020). In terms of consumption, rabbit meat has a better nutritional value than the bovine and pork meat usually consumed by the African population, as rabbit meat has a high health value (LEBAS et al., 1991). However, in Madagascar, the rabbit farming system is still family-based and traditional, and most Malagasy people do not eat rabbit meat due to lack of a cultural context for eating rabbit meat, the lack of technical knowledge for rabbit farming and lack of a veterinarian specialized in rabbit breeding, and no rabbit pathology has yet been officially declared (RANDRIAMANDRATONIRINA, 2019).

The main objective of the research project is the rural development of rabbit rearing in Madagascar. To achieve the main objective of the research, we plan to identify the characterization of rural rabbit farming in Madagascar, and improvement of assistance technique, dissemination, and valorization.

Direct observations and experimentation of the multifactorial evaluation of rabbit production system and management protocols consists of: a survey for rabbit breeders, an exchange of information regarding used productive factors, evaluation of productive performance and behavioral patterns evaluation of the meat quality and eventual entry of heavy metals in Maromizaha forest into the human food chain. Moreover, a remote sensing analysis will be used to characterize rabbit farming in Madagascar, to evaluate the relations of rabbit farms with the territory, the potential role of these farming systems with the life conditions of local populations and the comparison of different types of farming. Finally, will be evaluated the potential use of rabbit manure for organic fertilization of plant productions.

Rabbit farming is a new food resource used to combat and reduce hunger, sustainable socio-economic development by improving rabbit rearing, ecological production through the integration of rabbits in farm management and evaluate food safety by checking heavy metals exposure. Thus, this research project “Rural rabbit rearing for rural development in Madagascar” will contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as: 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 13 (Climate Action) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).