Snail farming is a very profitable Agric business in Nigeria,but for some reasons a lot of people do not engage in snail farming.
In this post we are going to take a look at some 50 Snail Farming facts in Nigeria that anyone who has the intention of starting up a snail farm in Nigeria should should know,snail farming informations such as snail farm structure,farming equipment,snail farming techniques Etc and other facts are listed below
The rise in demand for snail is now at an all time high,due to the increase in population and also the number of people making health decision to consume snail meat due to it’s low cholesterol content, this can be seen among hypertensive and diabetic patients.
50 Quick Facts About Snail Farming In Nigeria
- 1. The snail specie ACHATINA ACHATINA is the recommended specie of snail due to the fact that it is highly prolific.
- 2. The CBN and other commercial/micro finance banks in Nigeria has agricultural development loans for SMES venturing into snail farming.
- 3. Snail farming is also known as heliculture,it’s basically the domestication of snails for consumption.
- 4. Snail farming is a multi billion naira business venture that is overlooked by a lot of Nigerians due to sentiments or religious belief.
- 5. Snail farming requires less capital for star up when compared to other animal husbandry like poultry, fishery, cattle rearing, goat farming, etc.
- 6. Feeding the snails are relatively cheap because the snail’s feeds are readily available.
- 7. The demand for snail is large in Nigeria,both locally and internationally.
- 8. You can also export your snail to other countries who also have a high demand for snail,countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Cameroon, South Africa,USA Etc
- 9. Snail farming requires attention,care and good management.
- 10. Snails are fast breeders which is also good for business.
- 11. Achatina Achatina, also referred to as giant Ghana snail or giant tiger land snail can lay up to 1 million eggs in it’s life time.
- 12. Snails are very active at night and are usually found in the forest or bush areas.
- 13. Snail meat is highly nutritious.
- 14. Apart from eating snail as food, other parts of the snail can also be used to manufacture other things.
- 15. In nature the shell of the snail protects the snail from danger while commercially the shell of the snail can be used for traditional medicine, ornament or beads, decorations, cowries or for local tools.
- 16. Archachatina marginata a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family of Achatinidae can live up to 10 years and grow up to 20cm long.
- 17. Achatina Achatina is the biggest snail species in the world,the snail specie originated from Nigeria and are quite easy to find in Nigeria.
- 18. Your snail house should be free from wind to avoid dehydration.
- 19. Snail lay their eggs in the ground,hence the suitable soil for snail farming must not waterlogged, not too dry, must not be acidic.The best type of soil for snail farming is loamy soil.
- 20. Sourcing for snails should be done in the bushes,avoid buying snails from the local market,if your plan is to start breeding snails.
- 21. Snails thrive in dark and humid places,make sure that your snail pen is conducive enough. You can also use fresh leaves and cloth that is regularly wet to regulate the temperature.
- 22. Ants and termites should be kept away from your pen.
- 23. Snails feed on green leaves and fruits, snails also need calcium to grow shells.Leaves such as Cocoyam leaves, pawpaw leaves, okra leaves, cassava leaves, eggplant leaves, cabbage and lettuce leaves are ideal,limestones,egg shells etc can also be a good source of calcium. Smails also feed on fruits such as Mango, eggplant, pawpaw, banana, tomatoes, oil palm fruits, pears, cucumber.Etc
- 23. It’s necessary to separate the big snails from the small ones once they start growing.
- 24. It takes more than a year for the Achatina specie type to grow to harvest size while other species mature in two years.
- 25. Make sure that you harvest the snail when it’s matured,To know if your snails are already matured enough, check the brim of the shell. If it is matured enough, the brim should be thicker and harder than other parts of the shell.
- 26. Don’t harvest your base stock.
- 27. Snails in the forest mature in 24 months but some specie of snails can be matured in 8 months.
- 28. Always reduce the slime from your snails in other to curb low reproduction ,The slime from the trails of snails contains a pheromone that stops further laying of eggs.
- 29. Also make sure you reduce the number of snails in a pen if the pen is too congested,a congested pen will result in low reproduction rate of your snails.
- 30. Feed your snails with the green outer leaves of cabbage or get limestone from your local poultry market as a source of calcium for your snails.
- 31. Avoid flies,some specie of parasitic fliesays eggs in the snails and when they hatch, they will eat up your snails from the inside.
- 32. Snail slime can also be used in the production of cosmetics, and snail eggs for human consumption as a type of caviar.
- 33. The Achatina Achatina like most pulmonate gastropodsare hermaphrodites and have both male and female organs.
- 34. In the cosmetic industry,snails are used to treat different skin problems such as scars, acne, wrinkles, and dry skin.
- 35. Snails drink a lot of water, and an absence of adequate water supply can make them easily dehydrated, which can lead to infertility in the snails.
- 35. Before buying or gathering snails for your pen you should be familiar with the particular snail species that your looking for.
- 36. Make sure that your snailery (pen) is a dark and cool place.
- 37. You can use containers, bowls, boxes, baskets etc to harvest your snails,10kg is usually ideal because of the high fragility of snails.
- 38. Snail farmers usually sale their snail at hotels, restaurants, to market women, large supermarkets that sell agro products, and even exports to other foreign countries.
- 39. Snail farming is easy to handle and can be done part time.
- 40. Snail contains choline which is known to be required in building and maintaining healthy cell membranes, protecting the liver from fat accumulation, help transport triglycerides from the liver Etc
- 41. You can also write a business plan for your snail business if you want to invest in the business big time.
- 41. Other species of snails available in Nigeria are:
- (a) Zebra Nerite snail
- (b) Tracked Nerite snail
- (c) Horned Nerite snail
- (d) Sulawesi snail
- (e) Pond snail
- (f) Apple snail
- (g) Achatina Fulica
- (h) Achatina Achatina
- (i) Archachatina Marginata
- Achatina Achatina also known as giant Ghana snail or giant tiger land snail is rated as the best snail specie for rearing in Nigeria.
- 42. Feed your snails regularly i.e morning and night,also provide drinking water.
- 43. Always try to frequently clean the feed and water dishes.
- 44. Snails lay eggs 8-12 months when they are sexually mature, Snail eggs hatches between 4 to 6 weeks. After hatching, the baby snail stays in the soil for 2-5 days. Afterwhich the baby snail should be put in a separate pen to give it available space to grow.
- 45. Look out for pathogenic pest or diseases such as Parasites,nematodes, trematodes, fungi Etc also rats, mice, moles, skunks, weasels, birds, frogs, toads, lizards Etc
Also before selling your snail you should do a market research to know how much snail cost in the market.Currently one snail costs within N50 – N100 Naira.
