The National Rabbit Project (NRP) of Ghana, established in 1972, stood as a noteworthy initiative under the broader “Operation Feed Yourself” campaign, aimed at addressing national meat shortages and promoting food self-sufficiency.
The project, internationally recognized, served as a model for lesser-developed countries (LDCs) in providing breeding stock, training, and extension support to limited-resource farmers.
The domestic rabbit was introduced to Ghana over a century and a half ago by missionaries who encouraged backyard rabbit breeding among their congregations. Rabbit meat was favored as it had no known religious or ethnic consumption taboos. This historical context laid the groundwork for the NRP, which sought to leverage rabbit breeding to alleviate meat shortages and enhance food security.
In early 1972, Mr. Newlove Mamattah, then Liquidator of the Centre for Civic Education and an experienced backyard rabbit breeder, proposed a national rabbit breeding initiative to the Government of Ghana (GOG). The GOG, motivated by the need to develop a diversified and growing agricultural sector for economic and social development, invested 160,000 cedis (approximately USD 184,000) into the project. Mr. Mamattah was appointed as the NRP’s first director, and the project was established on a 32-hectare farm in Kwabenya, about 15 km north of Accra.
The primary aims of the NRP included:
- Encouraging Ghanaians to engage in backyard rabbit breeding to provide affordable meat for their families and to foster private commercial rabbitries.
- Providing improved foundation stock for backyard breeders through a scientific cross-breeding and upgrading program.
- Conducting research to develop a rabbit husbandry system suitable for Ghana’s conditions.
- Offering field extension services to assist breeders in acquiring technical knowledge for viable breeding programs and improved husbandry practices.
- Serving as the nucleus for a Ghana Rabbit Breeders Association to facilitate information and services exchange between the NRP and individual breeders.
The initial foundation stock of 80 local rabbits, sourced from backyard breeders, expanded significantly. By 1975, the rabbit population had grown to nearly 4,000, with several hundred rabbits of various breeds donated by Denmark, Switzerland, and the United States. These breeds included Alaskan, Blue Vienna, Californian, Champagne D’Argent, and many others. Despite this expansion, the imported breeds struggled to acclimatize to Ghana’s tropical environment, leading to issues such as low fertility and depressed growth rates.
Although the project initially generated interest and received a modest grant of about USD 140,000 from the government’s National Redemption Council, it faced challenges. The Ministry of Agriculture did not initially support the project until Joseph Ascroft, a Malawi national and professor of communications, advocated for it.
Ascroft’s involvement through a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) multimedia “Information Support Unit” helped the project gain necessary attention and support.
Despite these efforts, the project eventually ceased to exist, highlighting the difficulties in sustaining such initiatives without consistent support and adaptation to local conditions.
In recent decades, Ghana’s demand for agricultural food products has been greatly dependent on importations which have contributed to its foreign exchange debt.
@history.100 Ghana: "Rabbits for protein Project" under "Operation Feed Yourself" 1973 #ghanatiktok🇬🇭#africantiktok #agriculture ♬ Osibisa woyaya kofiapply – Kofi Apply