How to Start a Snail Farm

                                                         How to Start a Snail Farm

Livestock Breeding, Nigeria

Are you interested in starting a snail farming business in Nigeria? Do you need a sample snail farming business plan template? If you answered YES to the above question, then I want you to read every word on this page.

If you are looking for a business that you can start with very little capital and would have you raking in millions within a short time, then you should really start looking into Snail farming. Do you know you can even export snail both in large and small scale?

Well, you are going to learn everything you need to know in this article. Even though this article is using Nigeria as case study, the techniques, methods and ideas shared here can be implemented in any country of the globe; whether Ghana, United States, Canada, U.K, etc.

Why You Should Start a Snail Farming Business Today

a. Due to its high nutritional value, snails have become a very popular delicacy. Snail meat is very rich in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, vitamin E as well as vitamin C.

b. Snails are also a good source of protein. Snails are very popular among weight watchers because they are extremely low in calories and fat. Snail meat is also very beneficial to people suffering from cardiovascular diseases, cancer and people trying to recover from an injury.

c. With a population of over 160million people, and restaurants scattered all over the country; then starting a snail farming business in Nigeria is really a smart move as the demand cannot even be met by the existing local farmers.

d. Snail farming is not capital and management intensive, especially when compared to poultry and catfish farming. The feeds are readily available and you can even produce it yourself as snails feed on waste. You can start small from your backyard and grow from there.

Starting Snail Farming in Nigeria – Sample Business Plan Template

In the past, the only way to get snails was to go into the bush and gardens to hunt them after a rainfall or at night.  This was because most people did not know that snails could be reared domestically just like poultry and animals like chickens and goat. Snail farming is a very interesting business not just because it’s a highly profitable business, but because it is easy and fun.

If you are thinking of how to start a snail farming business, then you have come to the right place. The first thing you should consider is the location and environment of your snail farm.

1. Location and environment of your snail farm

The best environment to situate your snail farm is a low plain, downhill site.  The farm should not be exposed to excessive wind because too much wind would dry out and dehydrate your snails. It is best to have trees like banana or plantain planted around your snail farm.

Snails cannot be reared on concrete floors. The floor of your snailery must be made up of balanced soil, Soil that is not too dry and not waterlogged either. You should also make sure the soil of your snail farm is not acidic or clayey as this may be harmful to the snails. The best soil for rearing snails is a sandy-loamy soil that has low water retention.  The soil of your snail farm is highly critical to the growth and survival of the snails because snails derive calcium used for forming its shell from the soil. It also gets its water from the soil and lays its eggs on soil.

Depending on the scale of snail farming you want to go into, your snails can be reared in a large covered box if you are considering small scale snail farming, or in a concrete pen with soil flooring if you want to rear snails on a large scale.

The soil should be about 10 inches deep and you should use fresh leaves or wet clothes to control the temperature of your snailery. To protect your snails from predators and pests like snakes, rats and termites, you should make a barbed wire fence around your snail’s pen.

2. Learn everything you can about snails

Knowledge is an important req uisite for success in business, whether it is snail farming of any other business. To become a successful snail farmer, you need to know the best conditions to breed snails, how they reproduce (snails are hermaphrodites), how they feed and factors that militate against their growth. In fact, you must know everything about snails.

3. Conduct feasibility study

After obtaining the needed knowledge about snails, you will to conduct market feasibility for your snail farm project. Some few questions a feasibility report will help you answer include:

What are the factors militating against snail farming in Nigeria?

How much capital is needed to setup a snail farm, stock it with snails and run it effectively?

Where is the best place to site your farm and how close is it to the market?

How much is a bag or basket of snail sold in your area?

How long (months or years) will it take you to make your money back?

4. Prepare a business plan

After conducting feasibility study and writing a report about your findings, you will need to convert your feasibility report into a business plan. A business plan is important especially when it comes to seeking external funding from banks or investors. You will also need it to access government grants and loans. A business plan will also help you plan and execute your future growth strategy.

5. Sourcing for snails

You would need some snails to start up your snail farm and you must ensure that they are fertile and in perfect condition. The best place to source for your initial stock is in the bushes. Snails gotten directly from their natural habitat are in the best condition because they have not been exposed to too much sunlight which would dehydrate them and make them less fertile.

If you feel getting snails from the bush would be too much of a stress for you, then you can buy snail eggs from the market and cover them up with cocoyam leaves in a plastic bowl with wet sand in it and leave them to hatch.

The hatching process would take about 21-28 days then you can start feeding and taking care of your baby snails and watch your snails multiply in numbers because snails reproduce fast and in large numbers. Before you rush off to the market to get your snail eggs, you should know about the different species of snails and which ones are best for rearing.

The most suitable snail species for rearing are the Achatina Fulica, Achatina Achatina and the Archachatina Marginata but the Achatina Achatina is the most recommended for snail farming because of its high reproductive capacities. It can lay up to 500 eggs at once and lays eggs three times a year. The Achatina Achatina is also easy to find.

6. Snail feeding

Snails are very versatile feeders. They can feed on anything from leaves to fruits. Snails can feed on cocoyam leaves, cassava and okra leaves, cabbage, lettuce, pawpaw as well as eggplant leaves. Snails can also feed on fruits like mangoes, banana, pawpaw, tomatoes and pears.

It is important that you feed your snails with the right food that would support tissue growth and supply calcium needed to grow their shells. There are specially formulated snail feed in the market that you can use to feed your snails for improved growth and productivity.

7. Harvesting your snails

When harvesting your snails, it is important to handle them carefully. You can harvest them into clean plastic containers, baskets, bowls, or in a box to be carried to the point of sale. Do not overload the containers. 10 kg in each container is just okay so that the snails don’t get hurt or stressed.

8. Marketing your snails

There are different marketing opportunities for snail farmers. You can sell them to restaurants and hotels that have snail meat on their menu or sell to market men or women who will buy them in wholesale quantity from you. You can also process your snails for export to other countries.

Challenges of Starting Snail Farming in Nigeria

The opportunities in snail farming far outweigh its challenges The opportunities in snail farming far outweigh its challenges / problems. Aside the challenges of raising capital, getting a good place to rear the snails, getting their feeds and marketing your snails; the only headache you may face is the issue of pests such as ants, termites, hawks, etc. Once your environment is properly fumigated, fenced and the top covered with wire mesh; you will have no problems at all. Snails rarely fall sick.

In conclusion, I want you to know that snail farming is a highly lucrative business guaranteed to bring you a huge source of income within a short period! Venture into it. I bet you won’t regret it!

Snail farming in Nigeria is one of the most neglected and yet one of the post profitable animal rearing business anywhere in the country. It provides one of the finest opportunities to make good money at a very short time. But why are Nigerians not yet fully engaged in this money making animal rearing? The reason is ignorance.

Most people in Nigeria still believe that snail can only be picked in the bush. The culture of going to the bush to pick snails in the villages during raining time has been there for generations. So, it has been difficult for people to come to term that snail can actually be kept and grown at home.

Just like in many other aspects of farming in the country, Nigerians are yet to discover the great money making potential in snail rearing business and that is why we suffer in hunger and poverty. We neglect where the money is and keep pursuing it where it is not, going from one city to the other looking for one petty trading after another to trade on.

After reading this article, you will be on your way to starting your own snail business in easy and simple steps. And we are backing it up with a Practical Snail Farming eBook for those who can afford it.

Making ₦50,000,000  and above annually in snail rearing is a done deal if you do it well and get it right in a big way.

I will try to be as comprehensive as possible with this article so that you can get going after reading it, and as people starts commenting - asking questions and adding what they know about snail farming, the information here will be more enriched for everyone's benefit.

What is Snail: 

Land snails we wants to talk about belongs to the class of Molluscan, Gastropod. The one popularly known as 'Congo Meat' in many parts of Nigeria - Eju, Igbin, etc... There are so many species of snails but the ones we are looking at here are the ones that are suitable for Snail Farming.

There are three Species that are most suitable in this regards, there are:

1. Achatina fulica - 

The East African land snail, or giant African land snail, scientific name Achatina fulica, is a species of large, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinidae

Achatina fulica - The East African land snail

2. Achatina Achatina - 

Achatina achatina, common name the giant Ghana snail, also known as the giant tiger land snail, is a species of very large, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinidae.

Achatina Achatina - Giant West African Snail

 3. Archachatina Marginata - 

Archachatina marginata, common name the giant West African snail, is a species of air-breathing tropical land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinidae. They can grow up to 20cm long, and live up to 10 years.

Archachatina Marginata

Among these three species, Achatina Achatina is the most desirable for farmers because it grows so big to become the biggest snail species in the world. Achatina Achaina has it's origin from Nigeria, get to Liberia from Nigeria and then Ghana

Another reason is due to it’s high yield capacity. The other species are very good too but I will focus on Achatina Achatina and Archachatina Marginata in this blog post because, they are easy to find in Nigeria.

Achatina-Achatina is very good for commercialization as well, because of its profitability. This is because of the volume of eggs it lays at once. Each achatina lays 300 to 500 eggs at a time in clutches, three times a year. Therefore, if you start a farm with about 1000 snails, in one year you would be getting about 1.5 million snails going by the number of eggs they produces.

Having decided on the specie, let’s take you through the step by step how to setup your snail farm in a small scale level and starts rearing your snail towards harvest.

1. Snail Farming Environment - 

Snails are easily dehydrated, and wind increase the rate of moisture loose in snail which in turn, leads to the dryness of the animal. To prevent snails from losing water so quickly, your snaileries (the snail house) must be located in environment that is protected from wind.

A low plain, downhill site surrounded with enough trees is perfect for snail farming. You may plant plantains and bananas around your snail farm to prevent the impact of wind.

2. Type of Soil For Snail Farm – 

Snail’s major habitat is the soil, and soil contains some of the components and chemical substances that it needed to survive. However, not all soils are suitable for snail rearing. The shell of the snail is mainly calcium and it derive most of them from the soil. Snail also lay it’s eggs on the soil and drink water out of the soil.

Hence, the suitable soil for snail farming must contain these elements.  Must be balanced, not waterlogged, not too dry, and must not be acidic. The most desirable soil for snail is sandy-loamy soil with low water holding capacity. Clayey soil and acidic soil must be avoided.

3. Getting The Sails For Farming – 

To start up a snail farm, it is advisable to get snails directly from the forest instead of buying from the market after they have been exposed to sunlight and have dehydrated. This is because snails drink a lot of water, so are easily dehydrated and this stresses them out, and reduce their fertility capacity.

The intending snail farmer could pick the snails from the bush with a very simple technique; clear a little portion of land during rainy season and sprinkle spicy fruits like pineapple, pawpaw, plantain, banana etc at about 5o’clock in the evening, when you go back there about 7pm or 8pm, you will pick up snails suitable for rearing. Repeat the procedure until you get enough quantity.

Another way could be to pick up snail eggs littered in the market place where it is sold and through a technique, check the fertility of the eggs, because some of them must have lost fertility due to the exposure to sunlight. The eggs are later put inside a container containing wet sand and covered with cocoyam leaf. Between 21 to 28 days, the eggs would hatch into baby snails. You start feeding them and gradually you raise a snail farm.”

4. The Snail House (Snailery) - 

Snaileries can vary from a patch of fence-protected ground, sheltered from the wind to a covered box if you are breeding in small scale.

For larger population of snails, you can dug a trench or make a concrete pen with soil deep of about 10 inches, and cover it with screen or wire all around to prevent the snails from escaping. Remember that snails can reproduce fast and become pests when their breeding is uncontrolled.

Snails love dark and cold places, but make sure the humidity does not drop to levels harmful to the snails. You can use fresh leaves and cloth that is regularly wet to regulate the temperature.

Also, the wire is useful in keeping away rats and snakes or other predators from eating the snails in your snail farm. But aside from these bigger predators, you should be wary about smaller ones like ants and termites. Your construction must have these predators in mind.

5. Snails Foods and Feeding – 

Snails especially Achatina mainly feeds on green leaves and fruits though they can utilize other ranges of foods. Feed your snails leaves, fruits, or even formula from the feed store. Aside from food to grow tissues, snails need calcium to grow shells.

Leaves: Cocoyam leaves, pawpaw leaves, okra leaves, cassava leaves, eggplant leaves, cabbage and lettuce leaves.

Fruits: Mango, eggplant, pawpaw, banana, tomatoes, oil palm fruits, pears. and cucumber.

Once they start growing, separate the big ones from the small ones. It take more than a year for the Achatina type to grow to harvest size. Others mature in two years.

One million snails after a year or two sold at the rate of N50 and above each (highly reduced price) will give about N50 million! Isn’t that a good investment?

By Ajaero Tony Martins