SNAIL FARMING ECONOMIC IMPORTANCES

SNAIL FARMING ECONOMIC IMPORTANCES

Unlike other livestock enterprises, housing for snails is cheap to construct. Snails could easily be kept even in mobile housing. The feeding of snails is cheap, snails do not compete with man for food,  rather, they feed on the waste from man’s kitchen, poultry droppings, leaves and ripe fruit.
It has very high multiplication ratio. 

GIANT AFRICAN LAND SNAILS GROWERS-ACHATINA ACHATINA SPECIES

For example, A. marginata lays up to 80 – 100 eggs/growing season while A. achatina lays up to 300 or more eggs/growing. Snail hatch within 30 days and in 12 – 24 months are ready for table. Therefore, one snail can in a growing season give 100 – 300 new snail (depending on the reed).

Labour requirement for attending to snail is very low. 1 man hour/day can care for 100 snails. So, if the farmer started with 10 snails which cost about N900 at the rate of N90/snail, in a growing season the 10 snails will give about 10 x 300 eggs = 3,000 eggs. 
When hatched and reared, and allowed 10% mortality, in a growing season, the farmer will come up with 2,700 new snails. Feeding leaves, fruits and kitchen waist at no cost (the farmer spends nothing on feed).

At maturity; 2,700 will sell at
2,700 x N150 = N405,000
Profit = N405, 000 – N900 = N404, 100 (in 12 months)

Internationally, snail meat commands good market in Europe and North America. The French snail requirement is about 5 million kg/annum, out of which more than 60% is imported. Italy is said to consume about 306 million snails annually. In West Africa, Cote d’Ivoire has an estimated annual snail consumption of 7.9 million kg. Although the annual consumption figure in Nigeria is not known, one thing is certain that the demand is far ahead of the supply. Snail farming in Nigeria therefore has very bright future.