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OGOR: Agriculture Minister Suswono officially opened on Sunday the two-day Bogor Rabbit Festival 2012, which supports the development of rabbit farming.

The festival, held by the Indonesian Rabbit Association (Himakindo), is being held at the ministry’s Animal Husbandry Research and Development Center (Puslitbangnak) in Bogor, West Java.

In his opening speech, the minister said that rabbit farming had huge potential to support the country’s economy and could ensure food security.

“A rabbit farm is relatively easy and doesn’t need a vast area. It can be developed by anyone who is interested in such a business,” he said as quoted by Antara.

He said rabbit farming could even lead to a variety of rabbit-based industrial products ranging from skin, fertilizer and food, such as nuggets, meatballs and sausages.

“Rabbit farming has huge potential if we can develop it optimally. It can support not only our economy but also national food security,” he said.

In Indonesia, he said, few people bred rabbits as sources of food due to a lack of information on the potential. “We need to better promote the potential of rabbit farming so more people become interested in developing rabbit farms,” he said, adding that most people assumed that rabbits were only kept as pets.

Bambang Sarkoro, the festival’s public relations officer, said the Bogor Rabbit Festival was the first event to be held by Himakindo. The festival has about 150 participants presenting about 750 rabbits from Greater Jakarta and surrounding areas, he said.