Alternative Feed Ingredients for Sustainable Rabbit Production in Sub-Saharan Africa: Systematic Review

This systematic review aims to assess the potential alternative feed ingredients promoting sustainable rabbit production by minimizing feed costs.These unconventional feedstuffs offer essential nutrients while reducing dependence on traditional feed sources, thereby enhancing cost efficiency.A structured literature search was conducted using major academic databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar.Studies were included based on the following criteria: focus on rabbits, evaluation of at le ast one alternative feed ingredient, and reporting of performance or health-related outcomes.Only articles published in English between 2010 and 2025 were considered.The final analysis comprised seven studies, all of which were conducted in sub-Saharan Africa and exclusively focused on the application of alternative feed ingredients in rabbit nutrition.This review demonstrates that ingredients such as false yam tuber, sweet potato peel meal, and rumen-filtrate fermented rice offal have shown promising results as maize substitutes, enhancing growth performance, improving nutrient digestibility, and reducing production costs.Similarly, mulberry leaf meal, maggot meal, and MOLM demonstrated potential as adequate replacements for SBM.It can be concluded through this systematic review that various alternative feed ingredients can successfully replace maize or soybean meal in rabbit diets without compromising the growth, health, or economic viability of rabbit production in sub-Saharan Africa.