Snail breeding is one investment that can yield quick money if the farmer understands the modern techniques and species that are in high demand in Europe, USA and other developed countries.
Snail farming is a practicable and viable venture yet unexplored in Nigeria. If it has worked elsewhere, it will work in Nigeria. The demand for snail is higher than the supplies, an indication that the market potential of snail is inexhaustible, locally and internationally.
Investment capital: It is cheaper to set up snails farming because it reproduces fast. You can start the business with N60,000 or N100,000 depending on how large you want your snail farm to be. Asides the amount of your investment, it is possible to produce 1,000,000 snails now worth more than N5 million twice a year. This is made possible because of the availability of very highly prolific Achatina Achatina species of snails, which lay 200-400 in one batch two-three times a year. If you produce 100,000 snails that sell for N50 each, which is N50 X 100,000, you will be making N500,000. You will be making N5,000,000 per annum or more than that if you produce 1,000,000 snails.
When to start snail farming: The best time to start up a snail farming is the rainy season especially from July to October because that is the time snails normally start to breed. You should also note that prices of snails multiply during scarcity between March and December, which is the dry season.
What you need to feed snails: Snails are vegetarians and can be fed with wide varieties of foods such as cabbage, cucumber, mango, banana, eggplant, pear, tomato and paw-paw, cassava, okra leaves or lettuce. However, you can as well feed snails with pineapple, banana or paw paw.
How to keep snail safe/location: While you are selecting an appropriate site for housing the snails, you need to consider some factors, which include climate, wind speed and direction, soil characteristics and protection of the snails from diseases and predators.
Snails are good at escaping from where they are kept, so, for a rewarding business venture, you should endeavour to construct escape proof housing. You can use a pen house that will be spacious and accessible with a soil depth of 10 inches and trees around it.