Snail Farming; Secret Gold mine

Snail farming, also known as heliculture, is the process of raising land snails specifically for human use, either to use their flesh as edible escargot, or more recently, to obtain snail slime for use in cosmetics.
Snail farming in Nigeria is considered to be one of the most lucrative agro based business you can start with low capital. Yet, it is one of the most neglected animal rearing business.For hundreds of years, Nigerians appetite for snails has been served through local means. Snails handpicked from the bush (usually in the dead of the night and only in rainy season) has been the only way to get snails to the market and dinner table.
Achatina Fulica,Achatina Achatina and Archachatina Marginata are the species of snail suitable for snail farming.Archanita Marginata is usually farmers favorite. this is due to it’s high yield capacity.

Now, I guess I should go into how profitable this business is, and opportunities it offer. As I said earlier, Most of the snails supplied to the African market are gathered from bushes and forests during the rainy season (usually between April and September).because snails are very dormant during the dry season, they become increasingly scarce during this period and the market is starved of adequate supply until the next wet season. This makes the supply of snails very seasonal in many parts of the country where they serve as food. As a consequence, snails can fetch much higher prices during the dry season (December to March) when supply often does not keep up with demand. Due to steadily growing demand from customers, hotels and restaurants are always in need of snail delicacies on their menus. And given the significant upside to the profits that can be made, it makes a lot of sense to take maximum advantage of this market when the supply of snails is significantly short. Also, one can begin to think of exportation, depending on the size of the farm and possible collaboration with other farmers. I say exportation, because There is also growing demand in Europe for giant African snails.
Before I wrap up this article, there is something to bear in mind. it doesn’t matter how many snail you raise or how efficiently, if you can’t sell them at a profit.
Hopefully, my next article would feature setting up your own snail farm.

image: tropical giant snail
source: alamy.com

image: fish farm
source: Google images.