CBN Moves to Protect Beneficiaries of Intervention Fund

Barely a week after the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Audu Ogbeh, spoke on the fears of an impending famine in the country, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele’s warning to financial institutions participating in the CBN-guaranteed intervention funds to desist from granting loans with interests above nine per cent has further put development in the agricultural value chain under focus.

Emefiele gave the warning in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during an interaction between the Presidential Task Force on Agricultural Commodities and Production and young farmers at the Owowo Model Farm Estate. He also assured the young farmers of the bank’s funding support through their respective PFIs, and asked them t*o report any bank that charg*es them above 9 per cent interest on loans guaranteed by the CBN. He also urged operators in the sector to report any erring PFI to the apex bank for possible sanction.

The warning, coming shortly after the alarm by Ogbeh, that famine was imminent in the country if certain steps were not taken urgently, may have flagged some questions around the country’s agricultural value chain. Keen observers would wonder -why a country with massive potential in the sector could not guarantee food security for its citizenry or, in the least, guarantee lower food inflation.

This appears to gain more traction considering that various interventionist funds have been put in place to galvanise potential in the sector towards ensuring food security in the country and diversification of the country’s revenue base away from the oil and gas, and services sectors.

While the warning from Emefiele underscores low compliance rating among the PFIs, some observers opined that it is also a signal that the CBN is determined to improve on monitoring and enforcement of guidelines attached to intervention funds for critical sectors.

Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS)

According to information sourced on the website of the CBN, one of the -*intervention funds dedicated to the sector is the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme. The site stated that, “As part of its developmental role, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (FMA&WR) established the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) in 2009 to provide finance for the country’s agricultural value chain (production, processing, storage and marketing). Increased production arising from the intervention would moderate inflationary pressures and assist the bank to achieve its goal of price stability in the country.”

The site also listed the primary objectives of the scheme to include, “Fast-track the development of the agricultural sector of the Nigerian economy by providing credit facilities to large-scale commercial farmers at a single digit interest rate; enhance national food security by increasing food supply and effecting lower agricultural produce and products prices, thereby promoting low food inflation; reduce the cost of credit in agricultural production to enable farmers exploit the untapped potentials of the sector; and increase output, generate employment, diversify Nigeria’s revenue base, raise the level of foreign exchange earnings,” among others.

The scheme, which is a sub component of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s Commercial Agriculture Development Programme (CADP), is financed through a N200billion Bond raised by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

Reactions to the New Directive

Speaking with THISDAY, Chairman, Nigeria Agribusiness Group, Sanni Dangote, welcomed the directive but noted that there was need for segmentation of the agribusiness. He added that, while the nine per cent interest rate favour operators in the agribusiness sector, it does not favour the primary segment of the agricultural value chain.

Dangote argued for a lower interest rate for operator involved in activities that require long gestation period including tree and pineapple plantation, land development among others. He stated that, “it is fine for agribusiness because it is a short term window and brings quicker returns; some activities require longer period of gestation even with the moratorium in place.”

He said: “It is a good development and we welcome it. However, there is need for the CBN to do a proper segmentation of the agribusiness sector because nine per cent is still too high for the primary segment of the sector. For those in the primary segment, at best it should be six per cent.”

Besides, he argued that the call on sector operators to report erring PFIs would not work. According to him, the call would have been more effective if it came with a guarantee that the whistle blower will enjoy some guarantee against blanket blacklisting from PFIs.

“Under the present circumstances, nobody will report any erring bank for fear of being blacklisted by the bank. I would have preferred if the call came with assurance that the CBN will guarantee an operator a loan at another bank if he is refused a loan at the bank he reported as offering double-digit interest rate,” Alhaji Dangote said.

In his own submission, a former acting Managing Director, Unity Bank Plc, Dr. Muhammad Rislanudeen, recalled that, “Intervention funds were introduced as part of efforts towards strengthening the economy and financial institutions themselves after the stress test conducted in 2009. They were meant to bridge a funding gap especially for small and medium enterprises as well as agriculture financing.

“CBN initiated the power and aviation, small and medium enterprises as well as commercial agriculture credit facilities sometimes around 2009 with specific aim of providing more funding to real sector, income enhancing and employment creating sectors that have long-term benefit of supporting growth at single digit interest rate. It is even more relevant now with economy in recession and most of those critical sectors contracting due in large part to high cost of doing business inclusive of high interest rate charged by banks.

Rislanudeen noted that, “In the guidelines for those intervention funds, it is clear that banks will charge single digit interest rate of 7 per cent for SME, power and aviation loans and 9 per cent for agriculture loan inclusive of all charges. The central bank is therefore right to insist on single digit interest rate in compliance with extant guidelines.”

His view was shared by economist and ex-banker, Dr. Chijioke Ekechukwu, as he justified the need for the apex bank to closely monitor such funds which are aimed at reflating certain sectors of concern to the economy. According to him, “Part of the core functions of the CBN is, occasional interventions to stimulate the economy, grow and regulate same. Depending on what sector of the economy that needs intervention. It could be aviation, power, textile or general real sector as experienced recently. Intervention funds therefore are aimed at reflating certain sectors of concern to the economy considered necessary to grow the economy. Intervention Funds are meant to provide cheap loans to the players in these sectors.

“When a loan is considered cheap in this context, interest rate should be between 5 per cent to 9 per cent (single digit) per annum. CBN has recently deployed intervention funds in Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme, Anchor Borrowers Programme; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme and Development Funds.”

He added that, “These loans are availed through Participating Financial Institutions(PFIs) like BOI and some selected commercial banks. CBN has mandated these PFIs to ensure that these loans are given at single digit interest rates. This is to be able to achieve the ultimate purpose of such interventions. The higher the interest rate, the higher the risk of default in repayment by the debtors or beneficiaries and the higher the prices of their output.”

“Some other times, CBN cushions the loan burden of commercial banks by moving them out of their books as loans to the books of PFIs to save the lives of these ailing banks or to encourage them to extend more loans to certain sectors.

These are how relevant these funds are to the economy. They are indeed used to control some macro-economic indices” he explained.

Russia Urges Nigeria To Improve Processing, Packaging For Agric Produce

The Government of Russia has urged the federal government and relevant stakeholders in the agricultural sector to help improve the processing and packaging of fruits such as banana, papaya, pineapple and mango to meet up with the expectation of the Russia market.

Russia however pledged to strengthen its relations with Nigeria through the purchase of agricultural product.

In 2015 Russia agricultural total export was $16.2 billion, expecting $16.9 billion in 2016.

Speaking to news men in Abuja, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Nigeria, Mr Nikolay Udovichenko said that Nigeria’s major export to Russia for now is coco beans, describing Nigeria as a
tropical zone that has an abundant supply of fruits and vegetables.

Amb. Udovichenko noted that Russia now generate more revenue from selling agricultural produce, plant and machinery in the international market not fire arms.

“The Russian government is delighted and ready to export Nigerian agricultural products, especially, mangoes, pineapples, banana, pawpaw and cocoa beans. “We are ready to bring finished products and machines to promote the Agriculture sector in the country,” the envoy said. 

He said, ‘’In the international market, agricultural produce exports now bring in more revenue to Russia than arms exports.

We would probably have scarcely imagined such a thing possible. In 2015 our export came to $14.5 billion in 2015, and our agricultural produce exports came to $16.2 billion.’’

He said though the trade volume between Nigeria and Russia is $500,000, adding that both countries are making efforts to deepen bilateral ties.

He also noted that Russia do not want confrontation with any country, saying that Russia do not have need for it likewise the global community.

Quoting the presidential address by the president of Russia Vladimir Putin, the envoy said that Russia do not seek and never has sought enemies. ’’But we not allow our interest to be infringed upon or ignored.

He said Russia is also ready to work with the new US administration to put bilateral relations back on track and to develop them on an equal and mutually beneficial basis.

He also noted that the strategic partnership between Russia and China have become one of the key factors in ensuring global and regional stability.

The envoy also said that Russia will support Nigeria’s bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council if its candidate is a consensus of the African Union (AU).

The Security Council is one of the six principal organs of the UN and it is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security.

It has 15 members comprising five permanent and 10 non-permanent members. No Africa country has a permanent representative. The five permanent members are Russia, UK, France, China and the United States.

“If there is a consensus candidate of the AU and from Nigeria, we will be very pleased to support it,” said Udovichenko.

Kaduna farmer wins Candel’s N1m clean farm prize

Ayuba  Bradeh, a small holder farmer in Kaduna has emerged the lucky winner of the N1 million star prize at the grand finale of the Candel Company Limited’s Cleanfarm project and raffle draw held in Lagos.

Candel had earlier this year, launched the ‘Candel Cleanfarm project’ designed to rid farms of herbicide bottles and remnants of agrochemicals, which pose significant health hazard to the ecosystem.

The project encourages farmers to return empty bottles of used Candel products and get financial reward at the same time.

Ayuba emerged the star winner from a national media draw conducted at the headquarters of Candel Company Limited under the supervision of the Ministry of Environment led by (Mrs) Agbenla Oluwatoyin, the federal controller, Lagos.

Speaking at the draw, the Managing Director of Candel Company Limited, Emmanuel  Kattie, explained that the company embarked on the promotion to keep the environment clean and safe and enhancing the welfare of farmers across the country.

“We wanted something that will not only create excitement and fun for farmers but also enhance farmer’s productivity, efficiency and output,” he added.

FG acquires 110 rice mills for farmers

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has  said the federal government is strengthening the production of quality rice in the country with the procurement of small and medium scale mills.

 Chief Ogbeh stated that 110 various capacities of rice mills recently procured for farmers could mill 10 to 100 metric tonnes per day, adding that they would be distributed to clusters of farmers to boost rice production and milling capacity in the country.

The minister, who stated this at a press briefing in Abuja, said the federal government was also strengthening the capacity of farmers to achieve the goal of green alternative.

The minister reaffirmed the country’s commitment to exporting rice by 2017 stressing that the mills would enable smallholder farmers to process quality rice in the country.

Ogbeh also stated that the 30,000 slots allocated to the ministry under the N-power scheme of the federal government would be trained through the Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs) as agricultural extension workers.

He said those allotted would serve in their respective local government areas where they were expected to build the capacity of farmers for the next two years.

10 latest agricultural trends in Nigeria

It is no longer news that President Muhammadu Buhari's administration has prioritised agriculture in its fiscal plans for 2016.

The focus on agriculture is not surprising especially due to the dwindling oil prices in the international oil market which is affecting the Nigerian economy.

Nigeria is an oil producing country with over 50% of its earnings coming from the oil sector.

Soxi-Agro lists 10 new agricultural trends and facts in the agricultural sector that all Nigerians should be aware of.

Read below:

1. Agriculture accounts for about two-thirds of Nigeria's employment (120 million people), contributing at least 22% to the country's economic growth.

2. Nigeria has 84 million hectares of fertile land and also boast of two of Africa's largest rivers.

3. Nigeria is the 2nd largest producer of tomatoes in Africa and the 13th largest producer in the world (1.2 million tonnes).

4. 75% of the farming population in Nigeria are women.

5. The availability of laons to Nigerian farmers is just 3.9%

6. The federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has set aside 40 billion naira to support small holder farmers at a maximum interest rate of 9%

7. Nigeria hosts the largest Nigerian dwarf goat population with approximately 11 million in the southern part of Nigeria.

8. The average Nigerian cow weighs 317kg and produces 2.2 litres of milk per day.

9. Nigeria consume 6 million tonnes of chicken every year, but we produce only 1.5 million tonnes

10. Nigeria is the largest producer of shea nut and its shea qualifies as one of the best in the world.

So, you might want to take a breather and look seriously into the agro sector with more interest than dinner.

Common insecticides are riskier than thought to predatory insects

Neonicotinoids -- the most widely used class of insecticides -- significantly reduce populations of predatory insects when used as seed coatings, according to researchers at Penn State. The team's research challenges the previously held belief that neonicotinoid seed coatings have little to no effect on predatory insect populations. In fact, the work suggests that neonicotinoids reduce populations of insect predators as much as broadcast applications of commonly used pyrethroid insecticides.

"Predatory insects contribute billions of dollars a year to agriculture through the elimination of crop pest insects," said Margaret Douglas, postdoctoral researcher in entomology, Penn State. "We have found that neonicotinoid seed coatings reduce populations of these natural enemies 10 to 20 percent."

According to John Tooker, associate professor of entomology, Penn State, the use of neonicotinoids has risen dramatically in recent years, especially for large-acreage crop species like corn, soybeans and cotton. The insecticide is most often applied to seeds as a prophylactic coating. When the seeds are planted, the insecticide enters the soil where some of it is taken up by plant roots. The chemical then runs systemically through the plant, protecting young seedlings from insect pests.

"Applying insecticides to seeds rather than broadcasting them across a field was thought to reduce unwanted effects on natural enemies," said Douglas. "But we found that seeds treated with neonicotinoid insecticides reduced populations of natural enemies by 10 to 20 percent in North American and European farming systems. Surprisingly, this effect was about the same as that associated with broadcast applications of pyrethroids."

The team's research appeared in the online journal PeerJ.

The team used a statistical method, called meta-analysis, to combine the results of more than 1,000 observations from 20 field studies across North America and Europe that tested the effects of seed-applied neonicotinoids on predatory insects. "Unfortunately, the available literature is difficult to interpret," said Tooker. "Some studies show little influence of neonicotinoids presented as seed treatments on arthropod predators that are common in crop fields, whereas others show a strong influence of these seed treatments.

By using a meta-analysis approach, we were able to combine the results of many studies to quantitatively reveal the overall influence of neonicotinoids on predator populations."

Not only did the researchers find that neonicotinoid seed coatings significantly reduced natural enemy populations, they also found that the insecticide acted more strongly on insect predators than on spiders. In other words, spiders appeared to be less susceptible to neonicotinoids than insects, which is consistent with previous research.

"This result suggests that neonicotinoids are reducing populations of natural enemies at least partly through their toxic effects rather than simply by reducing the availability of their crop pest foods," said Douglas. "After all, insects are more susceptible to these toxins than spiders, whereas the two groups should be similarly affected by a lack of food."

The researchers note that their results may help farmers and pest management professionals better weigh the costs and benefits of neonicotinoid seed treatments versus alternatives.

"Several governments have restricted the use of neonicotinoids out of concern for their possible effects on pollinators," said Douglas. "But this raises the questions, 'What will farmers do without these products? If they switch to broadcast applications of pyrethroids, will those products be better or worse for predatory insects?' While our results do not speak to the pollinator issue, they do suggest that predatory insects are affected similarly by seed-applied neonicotinoids and broadcast pyrethroids."

The answer to the problem, noted Tooker, lies in the application of integrated pest management (IPM), a strategy that uses a combination of techniques -- which may or may not include the targeted use of insecticides -- to control pests, rather than universally deploying prophylactic tactics like insecticidal seed coatings.

"Substantial research exists supporting the value of IPM for pest control," he said. "It is the best chance we have of conserving beneficial insect species while maintaining productivity in our agricultural systems."

Story Source:

Materials provided by Penn State. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Margaret R. Douglas, John F. Tooker. Meta-analysis reveals that seed-applied neonicotinoids and pyrethroids have similar negative effects on abundance of arthropod natural enemies. PeerJ, 2016; 4: e2776 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2776

Benue Gov. Ortom declare Fridays work-free for agriculture

Benue State Government has again declared every Friday beginning from November 11 work-free.
The government said this was to enable civil servants commence harvest of their farm produce.

Recall that the Imo State government proposed similar policy but it was rejected by organized labour.
Benue said it will now enforce the policy it announced earlier in the year.

Its explanation then was that workers should use the last working day of the week for farming in the face of dwindling economy which made it difficult for the administration to pay salaries.

The latest decision was reached during the state executive meeting which was presided over by Governor Samuel Ortom.

A statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and ICT, Mr. Tahav Agerzua, said, “The state executive meeting approved that Friday every week be work-free days beginning from November 11, 2016 to end of January next year to enable civil servants harvest the produce in their farms.”

The statement added that the council, however, exempted some workers in education sector, maintaining that the school calendar should be allowed to run normally.

NIRSAL, Moroccan Financial Institution Seal Pact on Agriculture Devt

The Nigeria Incentive Based Risk-Sharing for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) in line with its mandate to de-risk and facilitate private finance into the agric sector has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Group Crédit Agricole (GCAM) – a top-ranking Moroccan financial institution to boost agricultural development in Nigeria.

The Managing Director of NIRSAL, Mr. Aliyu Abdulhameed signed on behalf of NIRSAL while the Chairman of GCAM, Mr. Tariq Sijilmassi signed on behalf of his institution.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by the President, Muhammadu Buhari, King Mohammed VI of Morocco and some top ranking Nigerian dignitaries- the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Muhammed Musa Bello, the Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Badaru Abubakar and the National Security Adviser Mohammed Babagana Monguno.

The key objectives of the MoU, according to a statement are to increase the flow of finance and technical expertise into commercial agriculture, catalyse the development of agro-industrial chains and increase the capacity of smallholder farmers in rural areas to expand the scale of their operations and productivity.

Established in 1929, GCAM has a network of over 278 branches throughout Morocco. The bank also has an international presence, with locations in France, the Netherlands and Italy, and has relationships with more than 700 banking correspondents worldwide.

Under the terms of the agreement, NIRSAL and GCAM will collaborate to deepen credit operations and increase lending across the entire agricultural value chain.

In addition, they will also work together to mobilise international funding for inclusive agricultural development and financing of high impact agricultural projects.

Other areas of collaboration under the MOU are to include exchange of support functions on agricultural risk analysis and management; exchange of knowledge on non-financial support for small farmers in terms of financial education, technical and management capacity building, adaptation to climate change and exploring institutional support mechanism to strengthen establishment of the internal structure and processes of both institutions through technical assistance.

Speaking after the MoU signing, the Managing Director, NIRSAL Mr. Aliyu Abdulhameed said that he was excited at the positive boost that the partnership with the top ranking Moroccan investment bank will have on current efforts by NIRSAL to boost agricultural development in the country.

“I am quite excited at the boost that this collaboration with the Moroccan government and Credit du Maroc will have on our efforts to finance de-risked agricultural value chains with the resultant increase in overall commercial and sustainable financing of agricultural projects in Nigeria. The expansive scope of the collaboration which includes finance, technical expertise and sharing of best practices fits exactly into our model and will help greatly in our efforts to reach even more agricultural producers and smallholder farmers.”

The MoU is a product of the bilateral agreement between the Nigerian and Moroccan government to deepen bi-lateral collaboration in the sharing of financing models and technical expertise towards agricultural development.

NIRSAL’s mandate is to catalyse a national agricultural revolution by boosting commercial agricultural productivity, competitiveness, value addition, market access and food security through the mechanism of de-risking the agricultural value chain in order to encourage investment by banks and the entire financial sector.

The focus of NIRSAL is on enabling a structured, sustainable and business oriented approach to agriculture that can stand the country in good stead in the emerging post oil Nigerian economy.

Other dignitries that witnessed at the event were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey J.K Onyeama, Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Hadiza Bala Usman, Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir H. Gwarzo, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange Mr. Osita Onyema and the Managing Director of Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) Mr. Uche Orji.

Snail Farming - Complete Guide to Profitable Snail Farming

Snail farming is the rearing of snails in captivity. The snails are confined in an enclosure and most of their requirements like feed; water and lime are supplied on a regular basis by the farmer.

 On maturity, the snails are harvested, processed and consumed by the farmer or sold. Since the seasonality of supply of snails from the wild limits their use for meat on a continuous basis, the need for organized small or large scale snail farming has become imperative.

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 opportunity 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 have the 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.


SNAILS FARMING SYSTEMS:

There are two main systems of snail farming. These are: Indoor and Outdoor systems

Indoor System: This system involves raising snails indoors in pens located in a building. The snails are fed a mixture of fresh vegetables, concentrates, and other food materials. The system utilizes little space as the snails could be raised even in trays placed on shelves on the walls. In advanced management, the system allows for temperature regulation, controlled lighting, regular cleaning, and health care.

Out-door System:In this system, snails are raised out-doors on pastures. The snails may or may not be fed. The farmer has little control over the performance of the snails. The snails move about feeding on natural food materials.

A modification of the out-door system is one in which the snails are confined outdoors in enclosures and fed both synthetic and natural diets.

It is easier to control and manipulate snails in this setting. This system fits in very
well into the Nigerian farming system.


REQUIREMENTS BEFORE STARTING:

The farmer will need the following to start a snail farm – (The modified out-door system).
Enough edible live snails.

A good site near his house with the right kind of soil and the right amount of water for the snails to live and grow.

*Enough food and shelter plants.
*The materials to build a pen for the snail.


SELECTION OF SITE:

A prospective snail farmer must choose a suitable for his farm. Important factors to consider are: Location, soil type, moisture content, wind direction, lime content of the soil and environmental temperature.

Location of Farm: The snail farm should preferably be located close to the farmer’s house. In this way he will be able to watch his snail regularly, detect any problem earl, protect them from their enemies and take care of them easily. There should be adequate space for future expansion.

Soil Type: The snail farm must be sited at a place where the soil is rich in humus and other decaying plant and animal materials. The soil should contain sufficient lime or calcium for eggs and shell and snails shell formation. Snails do not live in hard soils nor do they live in loose sandy soils. Snails cannot dig into hard clayey soils to rest and lay eggs while soils with a lot of sand do not hold enough water. The ideal snail soil should be medium (light) to allow air and water to penetrate easily.

Moisture content of Soil: Snails prefer damp soils. The farmer should avoid very wet lands and lands prone to flooding in the rainy season. Dew and rain keep the ground moist so that the snail can move easily and dig into it to rest and lay their eggs For a round the year production of snails, a ready source of water supply for irrigation or spraying should be provided.

Snails usually seal off their aperture and go into hibernation during the dry season unless a continuous supply of moisture is guaranteed. The soil could be kept continuously wet by the provision of shelter plants like banana/plantain or the farm could be watered to provide the necessary conditions for the survival and multiplication of snails.

Wind Direction: Snail farms should be situated in sites well protected from the wind. Strong winds during the snail growing season are bad for snails because they lead to
dehydration and subsequent drying up of snails.

Temperature and Humidity: Snails are cold blooded animals and therefore sensitive to change in atmospheric humidity and temperatures. In West Africa, temperatures in the areas where most edible species of snails are found do not fluctuate greatly.

However, significant fluctuation is in humidity below 75% induces the snails to aestivate(i.e. to loose valuable growing time). Snails therefore prefer a habitat that is neither too hot nor cold. When the temperature is too hot or too cold, the snails withdraw into its shell. This is called hibernation. Snails thrive best on temperatures of about 10 – 23°C.


CONSTRUCTION OF PEN (SNAILERY):

The type of snail pen depends on a number of factors which include:

*The scale of the snail farming enterprise;
*The type of snails farming i.e. In-door or Out-door;
*The stage of development and habits of the snails. This bulletin will discuss
the construction of out-door snail pen.

Size of Snail Pen: A snail pen can be large or small depending on how many snails the farmer wants to raise. For a new farmer, it is advisable to start with a small pen

He would need fewer materials and fewer snails for this. As he becomes more experienced in snail farming, he can build a bigger pen and get more snails to raise. A5m x 5m out-door pen is a suitable size to start with.


PEN TYPES

1 Hutch Box Method: The hutch boxes which could be single. The floors of the boxes are filled with sieved organic soil to a depth of 5 – 8 cm, which must be slightly limed (Caco). The bottom of the hutch 3boxes have holes to allow excess water to drain out. The hutch boxes are put under trees like rubber, cocoa, citrus and even plantain for shade. When hutch boxes are used, the soil is changed once every two to three months.

2.Trench Pens :  in the trench type, pens, square or rectangular holes (depending on the desired shape of pen) are dug in the ground about 50cm deep. The dug up area is divided into pens and the sides are built up to 2 – 3 blocks high from the ground level while the bottom is covered with loose soil. The pens are covered with nylonmesh nailed to wooden frames for lids. The trench pens which more or less look like the hutch pens could be used for hatching snail eggs, rearing and for finishing.

3.Make-shift Snailaries: Snail keeping as a hobby or on a very small scale could be done using the following make-shift outfits:-

i. Stack of old motor types
ii. Baskets
iii. Boxes

FEEDS AND FEEDING OF SNAILS:

Snails are voracious feeders and may consume about 10 time their body weight of leafy vegetable or plant material every day. To be successful in snail farming, the farmer must ensure a steady uninterrupted supply of foodstuffs to his snails throughout the snail growing season.

Food Plants: Snails feed on a wide variety of cultivated and wild plants. Young tender green leaves as well as dead and decaying leaves are eaten. Green leaves of Amaranthus, cocoyam, cassava, lettuce, cabbage, fluted pumpkin, hibiscus, are all eaten by snails.

Before beginning, the farmer should find out what plants his snails like to eat. He can thus get information from an experienced snail farmer in his locality. He can also with his lantern watch snails at night and see what they are eating. Different plant materials could be dropped in the pen and by trial and error, he could find out which ones the snail would prefer

Fruit Trees as shelter and food Plants:  Some fruit trees provide shelter as well as food for snails. Banana,  plantain, mango, pawpaw, sweet oranges, cocoa etc serve dual purpose of providing shelter as well as fruits. Snails prefer feeding on over ripe fruits of these trees .Ripe oil palm fruits, broken pods, seeds and seedlings of cocoa are also consumed by snails. Generally, snails usually hide on shelter plants during the day when it is dry and move to food plants to eat at night or early in the morning
when they are wet with dew.

Other Feeds: Snails also feed on synthetic diets containing a good amount of protein, calcium and phosphorus. An example of such diet is poultry marsh. Wet poultry droppings, rotten vegetables and dead animals are all consumed by snails.

Apart from the items mentioned here, there are many other foods in the farmer’s locality which snails like to eat. As stated earlier, these could be found out by trial and error.

Feeding Habit of Snails: Snails are nocturnal and feed on a wide variety of feed mainly in the night, early morning, evening or on cold rainy day. Their activity level (including their rate of feeding) fluctuates with the ambient temperature.


TAKING CARE OF THE SNAILS:

After the snails are put in the pen, the farmer should:

*Watch them carefully to see that they are eating well.
*Give them the right type of food in adequate quantity.
*Wet the food and shelter plants and moisten the ground regularly.

On dry days

During the snail growing season, water the ground daily. Always water in the evening at sunset. Ensure that the soil is moist and not wet. In areas with dry season, when plants do not grow, snails dig into the ground to rest.

They should not be watered at this time, otherwise the snails come out of the ground when they should not. The snails breeding season in Nigeria corresponds to the period of the rainy seasons.


CAUSES OF MORTALITY IN SNAILS:

Snails have many enemies. These include termites, soldier ants, frogs, toads, rats, snail eating birds, lizards, and larvae of some beetles.

Common salt is also poisonous to snails. Over crowding is a serious cause of mortality in snail pens. When too many snails are crowded in a pen, they produce undesirable secretion which is observed to reduce their productivity. To remedy these;

*Examine the pen fence regularly and mend any openings.
*Use materials that keep out pests from your fence.
*Maintain the right stocking density in you pen.
*Keep away poisonous chemicals like common salt.


HARVESTING SNAILS:

Generally, snails that are well fed and managed would be ready for harvesting within 12 to 24 months from the date of stocking. Also, when the farmer sees a lot of baby snails in the snail pen, he could harvest the fully grown snails.

He first put into the pen. Average weight of a snail a well matured snail of the giant type is 200gm. It takes not less than two years of efficient feeding to attain this weight. Growth rate is slow and a lot patience has to be exercised in snail farming.

ECONOMICS OF SNAIL PRODUCTION :

Unlike other livestock enterprises, housing for snails is cheap to construct. Snails could easily be kept even in make shift housing. The feeding of snails is cheap, snails do not compete with man for food, rather, they feed on the wastes from man’s kitchen, poultry droppings, leaves and over ripe/rotten fruits. Snails have very high multiplication ratio.

The A. marginata for example lays up to 80 – 100 eggs/growing season while the

1. achatinalays up to 300 eggs or more in a growing season. Snails hatch within 30 days and in 12 – 24 months are ready for table. One snail therefore can in a growing season give 100 – 300 new snails (depending on the breed).

Labour requirement for attending to snails is very low. 1 man hour/day can care for 100 snails .If a farmer started with 10 snails which cost about N600 – in a growing season the 10 snails will give about 10 x 300 eggs = 3,000 eggs. When hatched and reared, and allowing 10% mortality, in a growing season, the farmer
will come up with about 2,700 new snails.

Feeding on leaves, fruits and kitchen waste, the farmer spends nothing on feed. At maturity; the 2,700 will sell at 2,700 x N40 = N108,000Internationally, snail meat commands good market in Europe and North America. The French snail requirement is about 5 million kg/annum ,out this, more than 60% is imported. Italy is said to consume about 306 million snails annually. Back home in West Africa, Cote d’Ivoire has an estimated annual snail consumption of 7.9 million kg.

Although the annual snail consumption figure for Nigeria is not known, one thing is certain that the demand is far ahead of the supply. Snail farming in Nigeria therefore has very bright future.

Five amazing Harvest Machinery

Who said harvest season cannot be a fun one!