Snail farming in Nigeria is a type of animal farming which involves the rearing and raising of snails in an artificial or man-made environment.

Snail Farming in Nigeria

Unlike other types of animal farming, snail farming is an exceptionally good agriculture business because of the following reasons:

Benefits of Snail Farming in Nigeria

Profitability

Snail farming in Nigeria is very profitable. The gross profit margin possible in snail farming is a minimum of 100%. You can buy a snail for N200 and after rearing it, sell it between N450 to N1000.

Inexpensive

Snail farming in Nigeria is also an inexpensive farming business. The cost of setting up and running your snail farm is very low especially when compared to other types of animal farming. You won’t spend too much in feeding them because snails eat plants and vegetable that are abundantly available. They also eat rotten fruits which you can buy at give-away prices or even get for free!

Longevity

Snails have a very long life span, they can live for up to 10 years. This means that you can setup your snail farm and have your snails reproducing and growing to market size for over 10 years.

Ease

Snail farming in Nigeria is not stressful. The activities involved in snail farming are very simple and easy to perform. You won’t expend too much energy in starting and maintaining your snail farm.

Types of Snails Used in Snail Farming

Snails belong to the molluscs kingdom of animals and there are basically only 3 species or variant that you can farm in Nigeria. These 3 species are:

West African Giant Snail

Achatina

Fulica

These species have different characteristics and features which can have a deep impact on your snail farm depending on what you are trying to achieve on your farm.

For instance, if you want your snail farm to produce very large snail (ideal for supplying hotels, restaurants etc.), you should stock the West African Giant Snail specie.

However, if your focus is on large quantity of snails at average to medium sizes, then you should stock Achatina and Fulica species on your farm.

Preparations for Starting a Snail Farm

The whole essence of snail farming is to raise snails in a man-made environment where you can provide and control resources that will boost their growth and productivity. Therefore, you’ll need a structure or house where the snails will be raised. The snail house where you want to raise your snails should be built to mimic or copy the snails’ natural surroundings or environment in the forest.

Therefore, your snail house should be very cool and moist all year round. It should also have vegetable, plants, grass and short trees growing inside it. You must also ensure that pests and predators like birds, snake, lizard, ants etc. don’t have access to your snails.

Running your Snail Farm

The main activities that go into running a snail farm in Nigeria are Feeding and Maintenance

Feeding

Snails will eat virtually anything as long has it doesn’t have a high salt content. This feature of snail farming in Nigeria is what separates it from other types of animal farming. Snail will eat the plant, vegetables and grasses growing inside your snail house. They also like fruits too. Fruits like water melon, pawpaw and cabbage are loved by snails so you should make them available to your snails for eating.

Maintenance

Snails are very resilient animals, they don’t catch diseases or infections easily. Regardless of this fact, you still need to do some maintenance activities that will boost their growth and keep them healthy.  The main activities done in snail farming maintenance are keeping the snails’ house clean and comfortable for the snails. This is done by regularly cleaning the snail house to remove waste products and other materials that will inhibit the growth and health of the snails.

Start Your Own Snail Farm

Now that you are aware of the activities, benefits and profitability of snail farming in Nigeria, it’s time for you to see how to carry out these steps so that you can start your own snail farming business. To help you get started, we have added Snail Farming in Nigeria tutorial videos to our portal. These videos will guide and show you what to do in order to start your own snail farming business. So, watch our Snail Farming in Nigeria video tutorial lessons today.

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