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| snails |
Years ago the only way we had snails to feed on
was by going into the bush and gardens after a heavy down pour or at
night to hunt for them, little did we know that snails could be reared
domestically just like poultry and animals like goat.
Snail farming is a very interesting business not because it is highly
profitable, but because it is easy and fun, it also provides one of the
best opportunities to make money within a short period of time. But why
are Nigerians not fully engaged in this money making animal rearing?
The reason is lack of Knowledge.
In continents like Australia and USA, snail rearing is big business,
providing opportunities to many farmers.
In the United Kingdom, snails
can be seen in many supermarkets and stores; this means that snail
rearing is a big deal over there.
However in Nigeria, a lot of people still believe that snail can only
be picked in the bush or gardens. The culture of going to the bush to
pick snails during raining season has been there for generations. So, it
has been difficult for people to discover that snail can actually be
kept and grown at home and serve as a source of income; hence we keep on
suffering in hunger and poverty.
What is Snail?
Land snails belong to the class of Molluscan, Gastropod, popularly
known as ‘Congo Meat’ in many parts of Africa. In some part of Nigeria,
it is usually called Eju, Igbin, and so on. There are so many species of
snails but the types we are looking at here are the ones that are
suitable for commercial Snail Farming in Africa (Nigeria inclusive).
Most suitable Snail for rearing in Africa
Achatina fulica – The East African
land snail, or giant African land snail, scientific name Achatina
fulica is a species of large, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial
pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinidae. It is the
smallest in size among all the desirable species for rearing in Africa.
Achatina fulica has a narrow, conical shell, which is twice as long as
it is wide and contains 7 to 9 whorls when fully grown. The shell is
generally reddish-brown in colour with weak yellowish vertical markings
but colouration varies with environmental conditions and diet. A light
coffee colour is common. Adults of the species may exceed 20cm in shell
length but generally average about 5 to 10cm. The average weight of the
snail is approximately 32 grams.
Achatina Achatina – Achatina Achatina, commonly
named the giant Ghana snail, also known as the giant tiger land snail,
is a species of very large, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial
pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinidae. Giant African
land snails are hemraphrodites, meaning they possess both the female and
male reproductive organs. Two snails are still needed for breeding, but
they are very prolific breeders.
Similar to the other species in the genus, Achatina achatina’s shell
can attain a length of 200 mm and a maximum diameter of 100 mm. They may
possess between 7-8 whorls and the shell is often broadly ovate. The
body of the animal is silver-brown in color although albino morphs may
exist.
Archachatina Marginata – Archachatina marginata,
commonly named the giant West African snail, is a species of
air-breathing tropical land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod
mollusk in the family Achatinidae. They can grow up to 20cm long, and
live up to 10 years.
Among these three species, Achatina Achatina is the most desirable
for farmers because it grows so big to become the biggest snail species
in the world. Achatina Achaina has its origin from Nigeria, get to
Liberia from Nigeria and then Ghana
Another reason is due to its high yield capacity. The other species are very good too but we will focus on
Achatina Achatina and
Archachatina Marginata in this blog post because, they are easy to find in Nigeria.
Achatina-Achatina is very good for commercialization as well, because
of its profitability. This is because of the volume of eggs it lays at
once. Each achatina lays 300 to 500 eggs at a time in clutches, three
times a year. Therefore, if you start a farm with about 1000 snails, in
one year you would be getting about 1.5 million snails going by the
number of eggs they produces.
Here are some steps as to how you can setup your snail farm in a
small scale level and starts rearing your snail towards harvest.
Step 1: Snail Farming Environment –
Snails are easily dehydrated, and wind increase the rate of moisture
loose in snail which in turn, leads to the dryness of the animal. To
prevent snails from losing water so quickly, your snail house also known
as snaileries, must be located in environment that is protected from
wind.
A low plain, downhill site surrounded with enough trees is perfect for
snail farming. You may plant plantains and bananas around your snail
farm to prevent the impact of wind.
Step 2: Type of Soil for Snail Farm –
Snail’s major habitat is the soil, and soil contains some of the
components and chemical substances that it needed to survive. However,
not all soils are suitable for snail rearing. The shell of the snail is
mainly calcium which it derives most of it from the soil. Snail also lay
its eggs on the soil and drinks water out of the soil. Hence, the
suitable soil for snail farming must contain these elements. It must be
balanced, not waterlogged, not too dry, and must not be acidic. The
most desirable soil for snail is sandy-loamy soil with low water holding
capacity. Clayey soil and acidic soil must be avoided.
Step 3: Getting the Sails for Farming – To start up a
snail farm, it is advisable to get snails directly from the bush,
gardens or forest instead of buying from the market after they have been
exposed to sunlight and have dehydrated. This is because snails drink a
lot of water, so are easily dehydrated and this stresses them out, and
reduces their fertility capacity.
As an intending Snail farmer, one could pick the snails from the bush
with a very simple technique; clear a little portion of land during
rainy season and sprinkle spicy fruits like pineapple, pawpaw, plantain,
banana etc at about 5o’clock in the evening, when you go back there
about 7pm or 8pm, you will pick up snails suitable for rearing. Repeat
the procedure until you get enough quantity.
Another method could be to pick up snail eggs littered in the market
place where it is sold and through a technique, check the fertility of
the eggs, because some of them must have lost fertility due to the
exposure to sunlight. The eggs are later put inside a container
containing wet sand and covered with cocoyam leaf.
Between 21 to 28
days, the eggs would hatch into baby snails, then start feeding them and
gradually you raise a snail farm.
Step 4: The Snail House (Snailery) – Snaileries can
vary from a patch of fence-protected ground, sheltered from the wind to a
covered box if you are breeding in small scale.
For larger population of snails, you can dug a trench or make a concrete
pen with soil deep of about 10 inches, and cover it with screen or wire
all around to prevent the snails from escaping. Remember that snails
can reproduce fast and become pests when their breeding is uncontrolled.
Snails love dark and cold places, but make sure the humidity does not
drop to levels harmful to the snails. You can use fresh leaves and cloth
that is regularly wet to regulate the temperature.
Also, the wire is useful in keeping away rats and snakes or other
predators from eating the snails in your snail farm. But aside from
these bigger predators, you should be wary about smaller ones like ants
and termites. Your construction must have these predators in mind.
Step 5: Snails Foods and Feeding – Snails especially
Achatina mainly feeds on green leaves such as; Cocoyam leaves, pawpaw
leaves, okra leaves, cassava leaves, eggplant leaves, cabbage and
lettuce leaves and fruits such as; Mango, eggplant, pawpaw, banana,
tomatoes, oil palm fruits, pears and cucumber, though they can utilize
other ranges of foods. Snails can be fed with leaves, fruits, or even
formula from the feed store. Aside from food to grow tissues, snails
need calcium to grow shells.
Once they start growing, separate the big ones from the small ones. It
takes more than a year for the Achatina type to grow to harvest size.
Others mature in two years.
Imagine harvesting one hundred thousand snails after a year or two and
you sold it at a highly reduced price of N50 each, that will give you
about N5 million! Wow! Isn’t that a good investment?
What Are The Merits of Snail Farming?
The merits of snail farming among others include:
1. Snail farming in Nigeria is a virgin in the kingdom of livestock as a
result the earlier investors without doubt have bright prospects in
exploring this venture.
2. Snail farming is a practicable and viable venture yet unexplored in
Nigeria. If it has worked elsewhere, it will work in Nigeria.
3. This technology has been approved to be most lucrative farming
venture presently, as it requires far less capital investment, while
much profit is being generated in a considerable short period. It has
lower risk compared to other livestock farming.
4. The demand for snail is higher than the supplies asuch the market
potential of snail is inexhaustible, locally and internationally.
5. Virtually every part of snail is of vital use in Food, Pharmaceutical industry, manufacturing and fishing industries.
6. Snail is an export commodity, which has value next to gold in
overseas countries. It is a foreign exchange income earner of our days.
Our climate is one of the best in snail breeding.
7. Snail farming in Nigeria requires small capital and the running cost is very low, hence their feeds are very local.
8. If your start up capital is N100,000 you can generate the sum of one
million naira in one year. Some people in other livestock may earn
another N100,000, if they met no risk in a year.
9. Snail business indeed is a GEM in the livestock business. Therefore
take advantage of the opportunity of being among the forerunners in this
unbeatable venture.
10. You can conveniently earn income a thousand fold higher than your
present earning. You can keep your present job and do this on part time
since it doesn’t require much time.
11. This is a real export market that earns foreign revenue without you running from pillar to post.
12. This is not fiction but factual. Not imaginary but a reality. You too will share your view with others.
13. No stress, no time consuming, no odour, no noise and no irritation.
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