Economics of Snail Production in Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract-The study examined the economics of snail production in Edo state of Nigeria. The socio-economic characteristics of the respondents cost and returns and factors affecting revenue generation in snail production were the specific areas of focus of the study. Snow balling sampling technique was adopted to identify a total of 95 snail farmers in the study area and this formed the sample size for the study. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics, budgetary and regression analyses. The results indicated that the respondents had average stock size of 630 snails. The business of snail production required low capital investment and was highly profitable with gross margin and net profit per snail of N68.45 and N63.44 respectively. The results further showed that stock size, labor cost and educational level were the significant factors influencing revenue from snail production. They all correlated positively with the revenue and explained about 79% of the variation in the revenue (R 2 = 0.785). It was concluded that since snail production required low capital investment, low income earners could comfortably embark on it; and in view of the high profit level of the business, it could be a veritable enterprise for uplifting the living standard of its producers and advance the economy of the nation.