Farmers who have ventured into snail farming have been minting good money from the trade which is gaining popularity in the agri-business sector.
With a kilo of meat going for Ksh1,500, heliciculture (raising edible land snails) is proving a worthwhile endeavour.
The price is what the Jomo Kenyatta Institute of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) will pay for and also engages in slime extraction at Ksh1,200 a litre with 3,000 snails producing up to 10 litres a week.
Snails, though not a popular source of meat among Kenyans, are in high demand in the export market. They are considered nutritious as they comprise 70% low-calorie protein which is 15% of its total mass with fat accounting for 2.4% and the other 80% being water.
On the nutritional front, snails contain essential amino acids and are rich in fatty acids, calcium, iron, selenium, magnesium and vitamins E, A, K and B12.
Dr Paul Kinoti of Bio snail farming has over the years explained that the snails have numerous benefits for a farmer.
"It is a venture that has a ready, highly profitable market for the snails and their byproducts, and since they adapt to various environmental conditions, it is possible to rear them in small towns, cities, farms, at backyards or commercial levels and villages," he explained in a previous interview.
He further pointed out that snails being vegetarian enable the farmer to dispose household waste in an environmentally friendly manner, and also reduce the cost of required feed.
JKUAT offers free training for aspiring farmers who wish to take on the rearing of snails with an introductory stock of 15 snails.
The farmers are trained on startup capital, site selection and housing, the breeding process from reproduction to maturity, predators and diseases, harvesting, processing, marketing as well as slime extraction procedures and value addition.
The most prominent person to have disclosed their venture in snail farming is ODM leader Raila Odinga's daughter Rosemary Odinga, who began the trade in 2007.
“I started this project as a hobby in 2007. Before I started, I had gone to Nigeria where I had the privilege of visiting former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
"He was the one who challenged me to think about farming. He was so convincing with the snail farming, I promised to do something when I came back home,” she once stated.
Giant African land snails are hermaphrodite, which means that they have the reproductive organs for both male and female.
A snail produces 300 to 500 eggs in three months, which hatch after 11 to 15 days, enabling one to increase their population faster.
The Kenya Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2013 allows communities to farm animals such as snails, ostriches, snakes and crocodiles.
A permit will cost Ksh1,500. Prior to a permit being issued, the KWS sends a research team to assess the facility one has. Part of the task of KWS involves periodical monitoring of the management of the snail farms.
Before selling snails for consumption in hotels or for the export market, one has to be certified. In addition, farmers have to make quarterly reports to KWS.
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