HOW TO START SNAIL REARING BUSINESS IN YOUR LOCALITY

 Snail farming business is one of the ‘secret millionaire business’ in Nigeria though not as popular as many other lucrative businesses.

If you are interested in starting this business; what I am going to share here below is complete guide to starting a lucrative snail rearing business in any locality.

Snail rearing also known as heliculture is the breeding, raising and production of snails. Snails are useful for their meat served as several local and international delicacies, their shell are used for pharmaceutical purposes and also crushed for animal feed because of its rich source of calcium.

Reasons why snail farming is a lucrative Business

Environment: Snails are environment-friendly, because, unlike poultry or pigs, neither the snail nor its droppings smell offensively. Snails can also be reared in the backyard, little spaces and a small garden.

Inputs: Capital, technical, labor and financial inputs in simple snail farming are relatively low compared to those in other types of livestock farming (poultry, pigs, goats, sheep, cattle).

Snail meat: Snail meat is a good source of protein. It is rich in iron and calcium, but low in fat and cholesterol compared to protein sources from other livestock.

Climate: Without expensive artificial means of climate control, snail farming is restricted to the humid tropical forest zone, which offers a constant temperature and high relative humidity.

Cultural restrictions: Snail meat is considered a delicacy by some, whereas others will not even touch it for religious or cultural reasons.

Growth: Snails are relatively slow-growing animals. Furthermore the consumable meat makes up only 40% (maximum!) of the snail’s total live weight. Consequently snail farming is not a way to make money quickly!

Starting a Snail Farming In Your Locality

The following stages need to taken into consideration when starting a snail rearing business anywhere in the globe;

• Planning: Any business started without adequate plans is an accident waiting to happen; you need to prepare for how you intend to go about the production, marketing and organization.
• Production and Sales: Define the reasons why you intend to start a farm (personal or commercial?), what is your end goal? How many snails do you intend to produce? How many do you intend to sell?
• Investment: How much do you plan to put invest in it? How much profit do you intend to make?
• Technical know-how:  Learning the life cycle of snails, how they interact with the environment and how to set up ideal conditions to breed snails.
• Facilities: You will need to brainstorm the environment you plan to breed you snails, the location, feeds and equipment you plan to use to achieve optimum results.
• Market: If your intention is for commercial purposes, you need to understand the market value for snail farming. How much you stand to gain from snails and how to target high end clients and customers. Don’t start snail farming if you do not have a market for it.