He is into this type of farming by choice. There is no doubt that he has a passion for it. And for you to know that all you need do is to listen to him talk about the procedures, the types of snail, the byproducts of his animals and the gains therefrom. For someone who has not spent up to a year on this type of farming, it is surprising how he demonstrates so much knowledge about the process. Yet Okekegan Teslim Ayansola did not study agriculture. His forte is finance. In fact, at the Ilu-Tuntun Osooro town, via Okitipupa, where our man , Johnson Oyeyemi met him, he is the accountant at Forthright Agro-Allied Company Ltd. Basically, he is into it because of his interest in agricultural practice. By the time you had read the interview, you may discover that you are beginning to create interest in snail farming. We serve you an excerpt of the interview:
As an employee of Forthright Agro-Allied company ltd, are you into farming business to augment your income?
Actually, it is not to enhance my source of income, it is to support and get exposed to other sectors well such as moving from Engineering to Agriculture. So you just have to familiarize yourself with any sector that you found yourself in. That is why I’m venturing into agriculture, even though I have not known much about it so I can’t say mainly it is to enhance my sources of income. Just to gain the experience and see how things are being multiplied.
From what you just said, I want to ask you about your course of study in school?
Ehm, I am a Management Science student. I studied Accounting and also a qualified professional Accountant
From the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria?
Yes.
Why Agro-Allied?
Actually, it has always been in my plan to go into Agriculture whether in the old age or middle age. But when the opportunity opened for me to join the sector through Forthright Agro-Allied Company ltd, I then saw it as an opportunity for me to expand my dream job wise and finance wise relating to the agriculture sector.
What business when you talk about agro-allied, which one particularly are you into?
Currently am into snail farming in a very small scale in which I am doing in my comfort zone, my sitting room
What?
Yes, because of the nature of the animal we are talking about. Snail does not make noise, does not smell and does not consume too much capital to startup. That is why I decided to go into it. It also does not require any certification before you can venture into it. During my research effort as well, I also understand that the slime from the snail is also used as part of all these cosmetic products and the likes. My main focus is that if I could produce the snail in multiples, I will be able to extract the slime from their shell and put in a keg because I heard that in the world market a five litre keg of slime is sold for like 5,000 dollars
When you say slime, what do you mean?
Slime is the saliva from their mouth
So if you can gather the saliva from their mouth 5 litre is how much?
Roughly 5,000 dollars in the world market
Can I goggle search it?
Yes, you can.
Snail saliva?
Yes.
Do we have the market for this locally in Nigeria?
Yes we have the market in Nigeria even though to the point that some people are exporting it especially people that are rearing for sources of meat. They rear, kill, process and package for export purposes as well as for local consumption through local supermarkets and other markets.
That is snail meat, what about the slime?
For the slime you have to have an arrangement with a company that uses it as one of (the raw materials) to produce cosmetics.
What has your experience been like since you started this snail farming?
Actually it has been three months since I started with 100 snails. I have had a few challenges like some died probably because of change of environment or other factors but in the last one month now, I have not recorded any casualty. They have been eating and laying eggs and the eggs I have been trying to incubate by myself. This usually takes 21 days to incubate. Once they lay the eggs I take them out and incubate them for 21 days. After 21 days they bring out baby snails and I keep on rearing them gradually till they get to the point of table size.
Do you have an incubator?
It is not like an incubator machine but …
So how do you then incubate the eggs?
I incubate them by putting loamy soil in a container. I seal the container, I then ensure that there is little ventilation. I then sprinkle water on the container for 21 days. I will just allow the element of little cold and little heat so that the egg can hatch.
Talking about this incubator, I still want you to explain in a way so that people will understand
Okay the incubator is like let us say: You know this disposable plate is what I have been using for now. Inside the disposable plate, I put in Loamy soil, just put the egg on top and bury it inside the sand (loamy soil). I will just close it after burying the eggs in the sand, I will keep on checking it until after 21 days after which the shell of the egg would have been softened to crack and bring out the baby snail.
When you are checking you open the container?
No, for the 21 days I won’t open but I will just ensure that there is little ventilation so that if I sprinkle water it can penetrate into the container.
Which means you perforate the disposable plate?
Yeah, I perforate the disposable plate
From your experience so far, is it something you want to do on a large scale or you want to maintain the status quo?
Actually I plan to go into it in a large scale once I can calculate the operational period of their growth in terms of the formulated feeds that I am giving them. I have four columns, I feed the snails in the first column with formulated feeds, second one with vegetables alone, and in the third column I base their food on a mixture of formulated feeds and vegetables while in the last column I give them only water.
How do you know when it is ripe to give them those categories of feeds?
The essence of me giving them different feeds is because, like I said, I have four columns for the pen constructed for them. With the four columns I want to carry out different research operations on it. So one of the columns is just to give them formulated feeds, while the second column is to give them vegetables alone and see the rate of their growth and performance. In the third one I mix both formulated feeds and vegetables, while I only give water to the fourth one. I want to see their growth rate on each of these four columns.
Which means that you are experimenting?
Yes, I am still experimenting it for now based on their feeds
What have you found out so far?
For the past three months, I observed that those that have been given vegetables are more active at night compared to those that I give formulated feeds. For those ones I feed with both formulated feeds and vegetables are also performing well, also active at night but they chose the one to eat out of the two. I still find some particles of the formulated feeds each time I open the columns as if they didn’t even bother to feed on them while the vegetables like watermelon, cucumber, pawpaw leaves, ripe pawpaw and the likes are usually taken very well.
So what does that tell you?
It tells me that they are really enjoying the vegetables more. But the purpose of giving them formulated feeds may be if you want to ensure that they keep on laying eggs very well and the eggs are healthy. Giving them vegetables alone, they may just increase in size without giving you multiple production because you know snails don’t have sexual intercourse, they have the two organs by themselves, a single snail has the two organs on male and female so they can lay eggs without having to meet each other. So, for those feeding on vegetables alone, if you are rearing them for the purpose of meat, they will increase in size but those ones feeding on formulated feeds because it contains both calcium and other nutrients it makes them lay more eggs and the shell very strong. So in terms of activeness those feeding on vegetables are stronger
So, for those feeding on vegetables alone, if you are rearing them for the purpose of meat, they will increase in size but those ones feeding on formulated feeds because it contains both calcium and other nutrients it makes them lay more eggs and the shell very strong.
So if someone wants to rear snail for the purpose of meat you recommend vegetable feeds?
It is not just about vegetable feeds. They call some snail AMT (Ashantina Maginata). These type are very common in Nigeria and they are mainly for meat. We also have AF (Ashantina Folica) these ones produces more slime. They are not usually big in size but still they are like table size but they produce more slime.
Where are those Ashantina Folica found more?
Ghana, and other places outside Nigeria.
What would you recommend for young snail farmers like you?
It depends on the business plan one has. If it is for meat production, AM will be more reasonable because those ones are usually big in size which means more meat. But if you are going into slime production, Ashantina Folica is it.
Do you belong to any Farmers Association?
For now I don’t belong to any Farmers Association but I have the intention that once I get the system right I want to engage people, not just about the farming , using my knowledge in Accounting I also want to guide people on record keeping and how to track their performance in the farm operation. I also have the intention of teaching interested people once I get a better understanding of snail farming, can and teach other people who want to come into the business.
So all you are doing now is that you are training yourself?
Yes, I am training myself.
Which means that you intend to go into Consultancy on snail farming?
Yes.
What advice will you give youth like you?
Nowadays the economy of the country requires you to be very active, multitask and keep making reasonable life by touching people’s life. Don’t wait until when you are old or when you have millions in your bank account before you can start something. Because all what I spent for my set up is less that #120,000, both on the construction of the pen, getting the snails and feeding. So it is not until you have millions before you can venture into the business.
So, young people can go into snail farming with #50,000?
Yes, you can start with 50 snails and you know a snail can lay at once like 30, 40 eggs at a go. So if you are lucky out of 30 eggs you incubate them you can get may be 21 out of 30 because you mistakenly touch them or due to lack of adequate water during sprinkling. That is 70% production from one out of 50 snails and if you manage them well your snails will keep multiplying.
Yes, you can start with 50 snails and you know a snail can lay at once like 30, 40 eggs at a go. So if you are lucky out of 30 eggs you incubate them you can get may be 21 out of 30 because you mistakenly touch them or due to lack of adequate water during sprinkling.
Talking to a lay man who has never done this before, can you take me through the process one after the other?
First to make an impact, you have to get the knowledge from people through videos, seminars, training or goggle searching or registering with some snail farmers because some farm settlements train people online. After getting the knowledge make preparation for your Pen construction for either Earth or soil less. Soil less is the one that may be in your house you have tiles (not on ordinary floor) while soil or Earth is the one that you just do your blocks. There is real sand on the ground. It is just for you to treat the soil, apply hot water…
How do you treat the soil?
There are various ways you treat the soil, its either you heat the soil or you increase the nature by applying hot water and allow it to cool or dry up for one or two days and continually applying hot water at intervals.
When you want to apply the hot water you take the snails out of the pen?
Yes, you take them out and return them when the sand cool down. But in my own case I first of all heat the soil. After heating the soil and putting the sand in the pen I still apply hot water on their beddings like pawpaw leaves, banana leaves. Besides that, I sterilize them as well by putting them in hot water before introducing them into the pen to avoid any disease.
Will the water be boiled up to the boiling point?
Put the vegetables in the water and boil it up to boiling point and allow it to cool before you give them as feeds but avoid the pen being water logged as you introduce the boiled leaves.
What kind of routine is a snail farmer expected to keep for him to be able to take proper care of his animals?
You must visit them every morning in order to keep checking them to be sure that there is no problem. Ensure that the pen environment is neat.