Prospects and Problems of Snails Production in Nigeria

Introduction

Nigeria's economic recovery programmes have necessitated a radical shift from total dependence on government for job to self-employment. One such attractive area for self-employment is snail rearing. It is a great money-spinning business that can provide a substantial source of protein to complement Nigerian carbohydrate meals. Sadly Nigerians inclination to go into business in the fields where thousands have already made their fortune has led to the ulter neglect of such lucrative area of snail farming in Nigeria or export at international market. Many people see snails here and there.

Some people take it as meat. But quite a number don't know how to go about rearing them. This is made worse because snails, which belong to the family of animal called MOLLUSCA, is a hermaphrodite. It has both the female and male sexual organs; so one cannot really distinguish between the male and female specie of it.

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Overview

Snails that respire using a lung belong to the group Pulmonata, while those with gills form a polyphyletic group; in other words, snails with gills form a number of taxonomic groups that are not necessarily more closely related to each other than they are related to some other groups.

Both snails that have lungs and snails that have gills have diversified so widely over geological time that a few species with gills can be found on land and numerous species with lungs can be found in freshwater. Even a few marine species have lungs. Snails can be found in a very wide range of environments, including ditches, deserts, and the abyssal depths of the sea. Although many people are familiar with terrestrial snails, they are in the minority. Marine snails constitute the majority of snail species, and have much greater diversity and a greater biomass.

Numerous kinds of snail can also be found in fresh water. Most snails have thousands of microscopic tooth-like structures located on a ribbon-like tongue called a radula. The radula works like a file, ripping food into small pieces. Many snails are herbivorous, eating plants or rasping algae from surfaces with their radulae, though a few land species and many marine species are omnivores or predatory carnivores.

Snail Farming in Nigeria

Nigeria's economic recovery programmes have necessitated a radical shift from total dependence on government for job to self-employment.

One such attractive area for self-employment is snail rearing. It is a great money-spinning business that can provide a substantial source of protein to complement Nigerian carbohydrate meals. Sadly Nigerians inclination to go into business in the fields where thousands have already made their fortune has led to the ulter neglect of such lucrative area of snail farming in Nigeria or export at international market.

Problems of snail production

Population Control This is a sticky subject for a lot of people but it's important to think about this sensibly if you intend to keep snails.

With certain species able to lay 1200+ eggs in one year it is completely impractical to hatch all your eggs. And with most species, eggs are almost guaranteed. So let's deal with the options you have or may have heard: 1. Keeping snails isolated This is a common suggestion but I don't think it is a practical solution for a number of reasons. I'd favour the opinion that snails do best with others and most people wouldn't wish to keep one snail, and you may not have the tanks to start splitting them all up. Also, some species of snail can self-fertilise if necessary.

Picking snails that are notoriously hard to breed or in high demand This isn't a bad suggestion; you'll not have any trouble finding homes for the babies. Remember though, that new breeds are in high demand but may not necessarily be difficult to breed. Your first few clutches may fly out the door, but it's likely those new owners will have similar success. Some species can be fertile within a few months, so the day when you'll struggle to re-home them is merely postponed.  Discouraging breeding through environmental conditions This is a bit like the rhythm method in humans, in that it is likely to be very risky.

Most likely you'll end up with unhappy snails and eggs anyway. Destroying unwanted eggs The vast majority of snail keepers choose to destroy any unwanted eggs as soon as they are found. The sooner the better because they develop quite quickly, particularly if the snail has retained them for longer than usual. Destroying the eggs is more humane than hatching 1000s of unwanted babies. Owners of tropical species do this and liken it much to the viability that is realistically found in the wild.

A lot of eggs will be eaten, some won't develop and the chance of a baby snail surviving to adulthood is very poor. To destroy eggs you can simply crush, boil or freeze them, the latter the most popular method. Most people check the soil every few days, particularly in hot weather. More often than not snails will lay against the bottom or side of a tank so they are easy to spot. Some snails hold eggs inside for longer than usual so the eggs can be more developed but in the majority of cases, great conditions in captivity mean they can lay as soon as they are formed.

Native snail eggs generally take longer to hatch than tropical ones, 20-40 days, perhaps shorter in hot weather, so destroying them within a day or two of being laid means they are just fluid with no embryo in. Tropical eggs can hatch within a day or two so you have to be ultra vigilant. 5. Breeding Information (Self-fertilisation) "The Pulmonates are hermaphroditic. Most are outcrossers, exchanging spermatophores, containing spermatozoa at mating. Others self-fertilise, at least some of the time; in some, parts of the male reproductive system may be lost. Firstly, I can't be sure that by mention of "self-fertilise" it means "fertilising oneself with ones own sperm" or whether it simply means they control the process of choosing when and which sperm to fertilise themselves with.

Environmental Factors Favouring Survival and Raising of Snail

Environment is the combination of external physical conditions that affect and influence the growth, development and survival of organisms. Snail farms can be indoors or outdoors provided environmental conditions necessary for survival prevails for optimum production of snail the following environmental factors are ideal.

1. Temperature: Temperature influences the activities of snails temperature above 200c will cause the snails to as stivate our hibernate in order to regulate the body fluid continual snails thrive well under ambient temperature of 200c with considerable growth rate all year round with zero chance of aestivation. Temperature and humidity 80 hand in hand and are very critical in the survival of snails.
2. Humidity: This factor is very critical as the snail has to maintain a constant equilibrium between the fluids.
3. A humid environment is required for snail to remain active and bred all years round. A is therefore necessary to moisten the environment during fry periods.
4. Light: Snail though generally nocturnal requires light for optimum growth. Provided the amount of light in terms of quantity and quality is very arucil in the life of snail.
5. Soil: Soil is a medium for reproduction of snails good management practice involves selection and mixture of soil. It should be recalled that soil harbour a lot of pests predators and soil should diseases.

It becomes necessary that soil farm be properly analyzed before use in snail activities and development. It mixture of sand and clay in good proportion retains water and therefore is not suitable on the other hand clay during the rains is water logged and cakes up during the dry period too hard for the snails to burrow through. Loamy soil is recommended as it contains enough organic matter with good retentive capacity. Acidic soil should be avoided. If it can not be avoided liming is encouraged in such situation.

Periodic application of calcium is also encouraged where and when it is absent. The soil should not contain harmful salts or be so alkaline so as net to burn the snails (Akinuvsi 2000). Snails are known to escape from enclosures that are not properly protected or covered. It therefore becomes imperative that snail houses should be protected to prevent the snails from escaping and predator free. The housing for raising snails varies with the purpose, however it could be made of wooden materials wire mesh or even local materials whether outdoor or indoor.

Conclusion

This review attempted to examine the contribution of snail farming to poverty reduction in Nigeria. The paper emphasized that snail farming is a veritable means of complementing the carbohydrate meals of the totality of Nigeria as well as a means of generating income and to achieving self sufficiency as it provides self employment to the people. To be able to achieve this, government should encourage investors in this area financially and extension services.

It is, therefore, recommended that Government should take more than a cursory interest in snail farming by encouraging investors through progression of an enabling environmental, financial and technical support.

References

1. Agboola, F. K. , Fagbohunka, B. S. and Adenuga, G. A. (2008). Activities of Archachatina marginata heamolymph enzymes: clues to terrestrial snails’ salt intolerance. International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences (2)1: 6 – 71. Abere, S. A. and Lameed, G. A.
2. (2008). The medicinal utilization of snails in some selected states in Nigeria. In: Onyekwelu, J. C. Adekunle, V. A. J. and Oke, D. O. (eds. ). Proceeding of the first National conference of the Forests and Forest Products Society (FFPs) held in Akure, Ondo State between 11th and 18th of April, 2008. Pp 233 – 237. Ademosun, A. A. , Omidiji, M. O.
3. (1999). The nutrient value of African giant land snail (Archachatina marginata). Journal of Animal Protection Research 8(2): 876 – 877. Adeyeye, E. I.
4. (1996). Waste yield, Proximate and mineral Composition of three different types of land snail found in Nigeria. International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition 42(2): 111-116.

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