Organic Snail Farming (Giant African Land Snails)

The global market for edible snail is 300,000 metric tons valued at $1.3 billion (about N545 billion) with an annual compact growth rate of 4.5 percent per annum.

Snails are highly rich in protein (12-16percent) and iron (45-50 mg/kg), low in fat, and contains almost all the amino acids needed by humans.

Snail meat also have medicinal benefits which includes treatment of whooping cough, anemia, asthma, and high blood pressure due to their relatively low cholesterol level but high mineral content.

The eating of snail meat may help in curtailing the high incidences of diet related non communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and other cardiovascular diseases, resulting from the excessive consumption of saturated fatty foods/ red meat. 

Giant African Land Snails are popular snails in West Africa.                                                    

Species: Achatina achatina (A.A), Achatina marginata (A.M) and Achatina fulica (A.F)

Snail Housing:  The snail pen depends on the production scale: small, medium or large scale. 

So, the pen can be made of tyres, old drums, wooden pen, trench pens or shaded house for free range.

Avoid overcrowding as it impedes growth and can lead to disease outbreak.

Stocking: After the snail housing s ready, the next is stocking the pen with healthy snails either from the wild or other snail farmers and look out for the ones their flesh fill the shell (like in the picture above).

Rearing: The best time to rear snails is the rainy season, between April and October, but with good irrigation, it can be reared all year round.

Feeding: Snails feed on fruits and vegetables, tubers and calcium supplement.

Reproduction: Snails are hermaphrodites (that is, a snail has both male and female reproductive system). 

They lay 4-6 days after mating and eggs hatch within a month. They lay 30-1200 eggs in a clutch, two to three times a year depending on the specie. 

Pest and Disease Control: (1) Treat the soil by heating.

(2) Check the snails regularly and wash them to remove any pest on them, one after the other to prevent drowning.

(3) Use of wood ash against termites.

(4) Black oil (engine oil) around the pen.

(5) Removing of the snails and pouring of hot water in the pen to kill insects and their eggs in the soil.

(6) Boiling of neem leaves and spraying the liquid in the pen when cool.

(7) Soaking of cucumber in water for three days and spraying in the snail house.

Harvesting: Snails reach jumbo size from 12 months and above but can be harvested and sold from 6 months.

Marketing: Snails can be sold to hotels, restaurants, markets, grocery stores and can even be exported.

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Practical Training on Organic Snail Farming in Bonsaac Community

With partnership and support of the National Youth Service Corp, we were able to organize a practical training on organic snail farming for youths and women in Bonsaac Community to enlighten them on the health benefits of snail meat and profitability of snail farming. The training was to enable them get the practical knowledge on snail farming, be self employed and boost their income.

 

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How to Clean Live Snails without Breaking the Snail Shells

 

 

Snail is a great meat, very nutrituous, full of vitamins and minerals. it is a very great source of protein with low fat and cholesterol, but getting snails clean before use can be worrisome due to the snail slime.

So, you have live snails and you want to clean the snails, removing the slime perfectly well without going through the rigour of breaking the snail shells? You are in the right place.

Snails can be cleaned with different food items depending on what you have available or which you prefer.

These items are: Lime, lemon, alum, garri, and white vinegar with salt

For this write up, we would be using lemon and alum. Lemon is very efficient and alum gives it that perfect finishing. 

TOOLS AND MATERIALS NEEDED

• Bowl
• Pot
• Fork
• Lemon
• Alum

INSTRUCTION

• Get your live snails

• Put the snails in a pot, add water and boil for 10 minutes.

• In a bowl, using a fork to pull out the flesh of the snail out of the shell.

• Remove the offals.

• Cut the lemons, squeeze out the juice into the bowl of snails and scrub with both palms.

• Continue scrubbing  till the slime is off.

• Rinse till the water is clear.

• Then, scrub wit alum for a perfect finishing and your snails are ready for use.

For cleaning snails with the other items check here. 

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