Basic Knowledge in Agriculture #54
What is Heliculture
Heliculture is the process of rearing land snails for commercial purposes as well as for human consumption in our various homes. Some people like to eat snails because they contain nutritional value and are healthier than fish and other kinds of meat.
In African countries, particularly in Nigeria and Kenya, snail farming is more popular, where it boosts our economic development, and their houses are built to take care of them so that we can feed the nation. Snail farming is easier to set up because it does not require much capital to venture into the business.
What are the requirements for snail Farming
It's necessary to do this so that our snail farming can be managed and sustainable. The following are the requirements for snail farming, which are stated below:
• Housing: Snails need a cool place or area where wooden boxes or concrete blocks can be used to form their housing so that they can be protected from birds and other dangerous animals as well as direct sunlight.
• Workers: It requires one to two workers to help us manage the farmers, but in some cases, workers are not needed where the farm owner can feed their snails themselves with quality food to help them grow or develop.
• Soil: Snails need soil to live as well as to lay eggs when the time is right. Their soil must be rich in calcium, which plays a crucial role in their shell development.
Challenges encountered in snail Farming
The following are the challenges encountered by snail farmers, which are described below:
➡️Lack of knowledge: A person who is new to this agribusiness may face challenges, especially if he or she lacks the necessary experience, which may eventually result in losses without proper guidance and monitoring. If there is no availability of people to give us advice, it will be difficult to be successful farmers.
➡️Predators: If their housing is not good enough or strong, it may be easy for rodents or ants to attack them, and in the blink of an eye, it can kill them, which may result in a loss of resources. To prevent this from occur we can use trap or poisonous substance like commando to chase them away.
➡️Diseases: Snail farming has the opportunity to become contaminated with diseases that may lead to losses because some of these diseases are difficult to manage. It's important to clean their habitats and environments so that they can live healthily.
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