11 Merits of Snail Farming Business

There are so many merits / advantages of snail farming business which can also be referred to as snail rearing or commercial snail farming with regards to it’s low cost of production but high demand leading to more profits for the snail farmer.

Snail farming for beginners is very easy as snail farming does not require much knowledge to understand. As a beginner in snail farming business, all you need to do is carry an expert along on undergo a training in an already well established snail farm to acquire more practical knowledge about snail farming to guide and assist you establish and run a successful snail farm.

One of the Personal Entrepreneur characteristic (PEC) that makes a big difference between a successful entrepreneur and an unsuccessful one is opportunity seeking. That is, seeking, recognizing and acting on new business opportunities.

This is the use of contacts or networking to obtain useful information’s. It is in view of the above fact that I am introducing this wonderful opportunity to you!

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This is a golden opportunity that will enable readers to create for themselves, the targets and lofty goals for a huge success.

What is Snail Farming Business?

Snail farming is the process of breeding or rearing snails. Snail farming is also known as Heliciculture or heliculture.

Snails are animals with shells that have the ability to retract into their shell and also craw. The local name for snail in Nigeria is Igbin or Eju.

There are so many species/breeds of snails in Nigeria and the world, but the types we are looking at here are the ones that are suitable for commercial viable for Snail Farming in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

Snail is an animal a mollusc with a single spiral shell into which the whole body can be withdrawn. They are usually found in green vegetations.

Snail farming is one of the most lucrative, cost effective, easy to run business practices that requires very little capital to run compared to other forms of agricultural practices.

Snail farming in Nigeria for instance is one of the most neglected farming practices in Nigeria yet the opportunities abound. Snails are more popular in African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. The opportunities are massive likewise the potentials.

Unlike other forms of agricultural practices that require you building mighty structures and moving far away into the forest, snail farming doesn’t require massive land spaces and confinement.

Infact you can start a commercial snail farm at the back of your backyard. It requires little spaces, It’s environmental friendly, requires little man power and the feeding are cheap or almost free.

Read Also: Feeding Snails locally and How to Formulate Snail Feeds

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.

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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.

11 Merits of Snail Farming Business

Snail Farming otherwise known as Snail rearing or Heliciculture is the process of farming or raising edible terrestrial snails. “Escargot” most commonly refers to either Helix aspersa or to Helix pomatia, although other varieties of snails are eaten.

Some of the merits of snail farming business include the following:

(1) Snail farming in Nigeria for instance is a virgin in the kingdom of livestock as a result the earlier investors without doubt have bright prospects in exploring this investment the better.

(2) Snail farming or snail rearing is practicable and viable venture yet unexplored in Nigeria for example and if it has worked elsewhere then it will definitely work here.

(3) This technology has been approved to be the most lucrative farming venture presently as it requires far less capital investment while much profit is being generated in a considerable short period and it also has lower risk compared to other livestock farming businesses.

(4) The demand for snail is higher than the supplies as such the market potential of snail is inexhaustible both locally and internationally.

(5) Virtually every part of snail is a vital use in food, pharmaceutical industry, manufacturing and fishing industries.

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(6) Snails is an export commodity which has value next to gold in orrseas countries. It is a foreign exchange income earner of our days and our climate is one of the best in snail breeding business.

(7) Snail farming or snail rearing in Nigeria for instance requires small capital and the running cost is very low, hence their feeds are very locally sourced, cheaper to purchase and most times free.

(8) If your start up capital is one hundred thousand naira (#100,000) in Nigerian naira currency, you can generate the sum of one million naira (#1,000,000) while some people in other liveatock businesses may even earn another one hundred thousand naira (#100,000) that is 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 and you can also keep your present job while doing this as a part time job 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.

Therefore I encourage you to take this opportunity now!! Invest in snail farming business to make more profit.

Read Also: Methods of Livestock Breeding in the Tropical Environment

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.

Commercial 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.

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