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

Snail farming in Nigeria 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 to build mighty structures and moving far away into the forest, snail farming doesn’t require massive land spaces and confinement. In fact, you can start a commercial snail farm at the back of your backyard. It requires little spaces, It’s environmentally friendly, requires little manpower, and the feeding is cheap or almost free.

WHAT ARE SNAILS?

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 (Yoruba)  Ejula (Igbo) and katantanwa (Hausa).

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 Purposes in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

   A snail is an animal a mollusk with a single spiral shell into which the whole body can be withdrawn.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

WHAT IS SNAIL FARMING?

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

FACTS ABOUT SNAIL AND SNAIL FARMING

1. Snails produce a thick slime that protects and gives them the ability to crawl on a sharp object like the edge of a razor and not get hurt.

2. Snails are Hermaphrodite that is they possess both the male and female reproductive system

3. Garden snails have up to 14,175 teeth. They are all located on their tongue called the radula.

4. The biggest snail specie is the Achatina Marginata (AM) popular in Nigeria

5. Snails have the ability to hibernate during extreme cold or dry season. They form a protective white covering that can sustain them for months.

6. Snails are nocturnal animals, that is,  they are more active at night.

7. Snails are very good sources of protein.

8. Because of the suction created by their slime, a snail can crawl upside down.

9. Snails are deaf they don’t have a sense of hearing that is they cannot hear, they only see, feel and smell

10. Snails can live up to 5 to 20 years like in some cases that have been seen.

ADVANTAGES OF SNAIL FARMING IN NIGERIA

1. Snail shells serve as calcium used for animal feeds.
2. Snail farming requires little land or space.
3. Snail feeds are cheap and readily available.
4. Snail farming in Nigeria is not capital intensive.
5. Snail farming is easy to run.
6. Snail doesn’t require too much attention like other agricultural practices or livestock thereby making it easy to run part-time.
7. Snail farming requires little or no manpower or labor.
8. Snail farming doesn’t constitute a nuisance to the environment which is usually the case for other livestock farming in terms of noise and animal waste.
9. Quick growth, Snails are highly productive, can produce over 300 eggs over a year.
10. Snail meat is rich in protein, and its low level of cholesterol and fat.
11. Snail farming can easily be combined or incorporated with other farming practices.
12. Snails are basically harmless creatures.
13. Snail farming is a good source of income for the family.
14. Snails have Low mortality rate engaging best management practices.

BENEFITS OF SNAIL FARMING IN NIGERIA

1. It’s easy to run.
2. It is highly lucrative.
3. It is environmentally friendly.
4. Snails are highly productive.
5. Low in fat and cholesterol.
6. Highly medicinal and used for health-related products.
7. Has traditional healing benefits.
8. A good export opportunity.
9. It contains iron, vitamin A, calcium, magnesium, and has very low fat.

EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS USED FOR SNAIL FARMING IN NIGERIA

1. Tank for water
2. Watering cans
3. Hand trowel
4. Rake
5. Shovel
6. Weighing scale (digital preferably)
7. Buckets
8. Feeders
9. Pipe or hose

10.Humidity monitor, Soil pH meter.

SNAIL BREEDS/SPECIES IN SNAIL FARMING IN NIGERIA

When it comes to snail farming in Nigeria, there are 3 popular types of snail species/breeds common for snail breeding in Nigeria. There are often 3 major types of snails used for snail breeding in Nigeria and Africa in general this is due to their commercial viability.

1. Archachatina Marginata (AM)
2. Achatina Achatina (AA)
3. Achatina Fulica (AF)

(1) Archachatina Marginata (AM)

The Archachatina Marginata AM is peculiar to West Africa and it’s popularly known as the giant African snail. It is the largest of all the snail species. They can grow up to 20cm long in size and can produce up to 5 to 20 eggs in a single clutch and they can produce 2 to 3 clutches in a year and can live up to 10-20 years. It usually takes between 21 to 32 days for the Archachatina Marginata (AM) eggs to hatch, The AM eggs is harder and bigger compared to other species of snails. Archachatina Marginata (AM) takes about 6 to 9 months before it starts the laying of eggs. It is usually prized high because of its large size.

(2) Achatina Achatina (AA)

Achatina Achatina (AA) is d 2nd largest in the world and the second most popular breed in Nigeria and other countries and can lay up to 200 to 500 eggs in a single clutch and can lay up to 3 to 4 clutches in a year, it also takes 21 to 32 days for the Achatina Achatina (AA) eggs to hatch. It takes between 6 to 7 months before the Achatina Achatina (AA) starts laying eggs. AA is also known as TIGER LAND SNAIL due to its color just like the Tiger

(3). Achatina Fulica (AF)

Achatina Fulica (AF): The AF is the 3rd largest and can lay up to 200 to 500 eggs in a clutch and can produce up to 3 to 4 clutches a year. It is the smallest of the breeding type of snail. It is also the third species used in snail breeding in Nigeria.

SNAIL

PROCESSES INVOLVED IN SNAIL FARMING IN NIGERIA (HELICULTURE)

1. Education: This is where many farmers fail because they hardly know much about the business they are venturing into. So first of all, get all the knowledge about the business, understand the business idea, breed type,  problem you might face, disease, feeds, plants and vegetable, do’s and don’ts, marketing, viability, and the different challenges that may arise in the process of running the business. Once you gatherer enough knowledge about snail farming in Nigeria you are good to go. You can also visit other snail farms to get an idea of operating a snail farm or let an experienced person guide you. After this then move on to the next stage.

2. Physical Environment of the Farm: One of the most important factors in snail farming is the physical environment of your snail farm. Your snail farm must be properly chosen and selected and situated in an environment that is free from predators, diseases, and bacteria that may be harmful to your snail farm. Make sure there are plants or trees to shield the snails from direct sunlight and winds.

3. The Soil Type and texture: The soil plays a major role in the life cycle of the snail because the snail derives the calcium and other nutrients needed for the formation of its shell from the soil and also the soil plays a major role in the hatching of the snail eggs. Because snails bury their eggs inside the soil for hatching. So therefore the best soil used for snail breeding is the type that has low water retention capacity that is, it doesn’t retain too much water. A perfect soil type for snail breeding is sandy-loamy soil.

4. The pen for snail: When building a pen for snail farming, you need to ask yourself the type of snail farming you intend to practice, are you looking at an intensive or extensive farm system. Are you looking at a very big farm, a commercial farm, a free-range, or a caged system? You must ask of these before you construct your housing unit. More so, how many snails you are looking at breeding determines the dimension of the housing unit.

5. Sourcing for snails: Snails should be sourced from reputable snail farms. Make sure they are very active and they haven’t been exposed to too much sunlight to avoid stress which might affect their survival and breeding capability. Snails are known to be more active in the night and morning when it rains.

6. Building the Snail House (Snailry)-: Snail houses can vary depending on the type of snail breeding practices you intend to practice and the amount of available space at your disposal. It could vary from a little cupboard space at the back of your house to a room size pen to a full plot of land or more depending on your capacity.

   When constructing a pen, you should avoid overpopulation and give enough room for the snails to move around. Also make sure the spaces are well guarded to prevent them from attacks from rodents, ants, and snakes and also to prevent the snails from escaping.

Make sure the pens are surrounded by plants that can serve as a cover crop because snails love cool and dark places.

7. Snail Foods and Feeding – Snails mostly feed on vegetables, plants, and fruits. In modern farming, there are formulated feeds rich in calcium that has been specially prepared for snails which makes them grow faster. Some of these feeds have been sold to many in our forum. Snails feed on a variety of natural feed crops like pawpaw leaves, cabbage and lettuce, okra leaves, water leaves, watermelon, pawpaw, cucumber, banana, and the list go on.

8. Breeding the snail for the market: Snails takes averagely between 6 to 12 months to get to marketable size when breeding with a natural feed like fruits and vegetables. However, with specially formulated feed, the growth is boosted.

9. Marketing of your snail in Nigeria: Currently the demand for snail outweighs the supply. So the market is wide and readily available as the snail farmers are not currently meeting demands. Your target markets are the market women in the markets, snail farmers, pepper soup joints, restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, and snail lovers who cook them for special delicacies.

You will want to know the best species to breed, well as far as I am concerned, I ABDULRASHEED TIWATOPE Strongly recommend you to breed the AM which is the simplest breed and most marketable in Nigeria.

SIMPLE ANALYSIS FOR BREEDING A.M  SNAIL IN NIGERIA

If you start a snail farm with 1,000 matured snails and they lay say 15eggs  each in a year. Remember that snails A.M can go 3 clutches in a year, and it’s lay between 5 to 20eggs per clutch.

Equals to 5 x 3 = 15each (that is 15snails each in a year).

Cost of 1,000 snails for breeding = 1,000 x 350 = 350,000 (Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand  Naira to buy snail to breeds from Farmers) 

For 15 snails for 1,000 foundation stock = 15,000 snail juveniles (the mothers have not included just the babies that is why I  use juveniles) in a year.

Now what is your profit on the snail babies, remember you bought their parents at the rate of N350k

 you have a total of 15,000 x 200 Naira per snail (Highly reduced price) N3,000,000 (that is three million naira) Is that amazing? Now let me burst your brain, you can make above N3m in a year, imagine if your snail lays up to 10 per clutch which is 30 in a year multiply by 1k snail. No matter how much you spend on setting up and food you makeover 10times what you spent.

This is a rough projection which is obtainable in good management practices. I think with this little summary snail breeding is profitable.

Snails can be breeds anywhere because of its environmentally friendly, snail is odorless, and noiseless, you can even breed snail in your kitchen,

STARTING SNAIL FARM WITH LITTLE CAPITAL AND GROW BIG

You can start Snail farm with little money, as I have said earlier, Snail can be breeds anywhere around your house and make a huge profit, this is how to get started with little capital as low as N5,000 (Five Thousand Naira ) or 15USD... Continue Reading

 KEY POINTS TO CATFISH FARMING