It is often said teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Over the last few years, KEEP Liberia has been working with several cooperatives around Liberia, supporting them with small grants to scale up their businesses, farms or start a business.
Recently, a few members of one of the clubs expressed interest in learning heliciculture (snail farming).
Snail meat is widely consumed in West Africa and in Liberia, is considered a much loved delicacy which is often highly priced. Highly nutritious, low in fat, it is a great source of protein.
Given its seasonal availability, during the “dry season” period, snails are scare, thus making the price of the white meat rising four fold. It is the business prospects of the meat that has many in Liberia now trying to master the science of growing it.
“The global snail market was valued at USD 549.7 Million in 2019and is anticipated to reach USD 766.6 Million by 2027.” [1]
The Executive Director of KEEP Liberia who is active in heliciculture conducted a training with members of one savings cooperative in rural Montserrado. The training covered the care of adult snails, eggs management, feeding as well as juvenile care. At the conclusion of the training, each participant receive a start up mobile box along with “point of lay” snails.
They will be mentored over a period of 10 months, during which time one on one support will be given provided as the intention is also to see an increase in their disposable income and improving their quality of living. The pilot also intends to document the care and subsequent growth response of the snails for future scaling.
[1] Snail Market Size, Share, Trends & Growth Opportunity [2030] (growthmarketreports.com)
