₦airaland Forum

Come

Let us reason together how you can achieve your agric business dreams and visions irrespective of your age and little resources. You will be surprised to see how far you can achieve with that which you call little.

My slogan is: you have got all you need for a business start up. Look in wards.

Keep the questions, answers, queries, constructive criticisms, share your experience and all useful informations pouring in. Your bad experiences may realy help an adventurer stay clear of wahala.

Regards,

The Unbeatable.

@ farm tech:
Brooooooda,
I so much believe in your guts. It gingers my teaching instinct but I must ask you some questions, my brother.
1 do you have an operating farm? Please pardon my ignorance.
2 if yes, how many world class animals are there?
3 do all animals adapt to thesame climatic conditions?
4 why are you not growing this common "green apples" at your back yard?
( Laughing in my mind)
I like your enthusiasm and vision its incomparable.
Mind you, I am not morking you. I just want your vison to be clear to the reality of what our challenges in Nigeria, that is why this website is called "Nairaland.com"

...Embraces...
Your Brother,
The Unbeatable!

@ barri chris:
God bless you for your contribution to this thread. I like you for your wanting to offer " free help". That is what we do here.
I am sure you dint bother to read through all the previous pages on this thread before making your post. If you did, I am sure you will know that you should make a more " constructive post" in this your first paragragh. Sir/madam, you don't spoil or water down other peoples effort to "build" your own. Its a bad awareness strategy and for your information sir, that will not work here.

Love you,
The Unbeatable!

@ e_ jaja;

I have not been able to settle down to make something comprehensive o but let me give a draft here.
For a 1 plot to 1 ha field, a 3hp surface water pump is appropriate. Depending on your taste of sprinklers, you will use 10 - 20 stock sprinklers and several meters of connecting pipes and connectors irrespective of your farm layout and irrigation orrientation.
Thank you. But in all, for a 1 plot land, you can budget 50k to 70k max for a simple perrenial irrigation scheme.

@ jamp:

Money from droppings?
There is only one way that I know and it is called "compost " it is an organic fertilizer sourced from both animal waste and plant waste. It is mixed in a propotion and allowed to decay. For sometime, it is then crushed and sieved into commercial size, bagged and sold for 1k per 25kg and if mixed with chemical fertilizer in a certain proportion, it is more active(organomineral fertilizer) and sold for 1500 per 25kg. I have more knowledge on this "turning waste to wealth" business! It is time and labour intesnsive but it gives good returns as well! Thank you!

@datola, momexcellency:

demand for grass cutter differ from one location to another. if you stay in the urban arears, i think the demand is higher because of industrialisation and construction works that has either made this animal extinct or endangered specie. big men in the urban areas want to feel the sweetness of nature by demanding for "bush meat". in the rural arears, bush meat is common and cheaper.

@ farm tech:

We have different goat breeds in nigerria namely;
Red bororo, west african long legged goat, west african dwarf goat. These are the ones I can identify myself and can talk about. To the best of my knowledge, the west african dwarf goat is best suited to the west and south(edo, delta). They are hardy(rugged, rarely sick, strong) and gives delicious meat especially in "obe ata".
Cost price of weaners is around 3-4k depending on size and location and adult sells for 13- 18k. It is a good business but you can not raise them well in confine( I stand to be corrected anyway but this is what I have known with experience).



@ all:
Sorry for not being prompt with my posts, you know this is festive time and we all are chasing one thing or something is chasing us( to be candid). I have some names I wrote down and their questions but I have not answered. I had to answer e-jaja on dueress because my mind was always pinging me not to delay someones information because information is power and power is money(influence and afluence).
Need to attend to my pullets and pigs. Got to go.
I am open to any question because. Your questions revitalise my retentive memory and quest for more knowledge because I see myself nowadays buy more books on agric, practice it and dish out the knowledge to others for free becuase everyone may not have access to literatures.
I believe in one yoruba saying which states:
Enikeni ti iwo ba nipa lati se iran lowo fun, oun naa lenikeji e toju re ( whoever you have the power to help, he/she is your neighbour. Care for them)

Always loyal,
The Unbeatable.

@ e-jaja:
I had answered your question sometime back but the network was down so my post was not successful.

Someone said, maturity is the ability to delay immediate gratification for future satisfaction. E- jaja, I respect you for your patience. Your kind is rare!

What I meant when I said " there are many things involved" means that there are many practices, labour and endurance involved. Since you can wait for me this long? You can do majority of agric business. I can assure you of that.
Cassava agronomic practices are numerous.
Preplanting, planting and post planting practices .
The type of vegetable in high demand in south west is amaranthus cruenthus( efo green), celosia argentia( soko), abelmoschus esculentus(okra or Ila). Telfaria occidentalis(ugu), ewedu.

About sprinkler, I will reply soon!

@ e-jaja:

Saw your post, please I will reply soon. Trying to take some rest from my travellings. I still have one for this week end. I will respond.
I like you because I am very curious like you too. A little rest is needed by me to make good compositions. You see, I compose my posts off-hand majorly. As soon as possible, I will reply! Please forgive me. Abeg!

@etesam:

I have seen onion plantation before. The place is an island and the onion plantation was on seed bed, grown normally like amaranthus cruentus and celosia argentia. I have limited knowledge about onion agronomy and I welcome all available knowledge.

Thank you all!

The Unbeatable

@eminikansoso:
Depending on the scale you want to start with, I think, 200k will be enough to start little. You can show your interest in the one you want to start first!

@onuels:
You can start anyone. Both are profitable but rabbits are more prolific. You will have litres every 2-3 months and you can sell. You have a land? Good, then let's get started now!


@star2008: you can reach me on 08067341873. If you are calling from outside nigeria, it will be +2348067341873.


@usa.number: please take dressing from corner chen. Here is not for adverts.


@emmysteve:
My brother, enjoy your cage! Every disappointment is a blessing. Look for something to do with the extra spaces.

@boluwajokosegun
Bros, I trowey salut oh
I like this your "cassava mouth cultivation" and sales.
You even want to sale the peels, hmnn. Doing business with you will be a nice thing because I will want to learn more from your school of thought.


@ 5p1naz:
Your abservations are plaussible on snail farming seminar guys. You are a typical nigerian man like me. You can't be intimidated!
Relocation to my own land is the next on my agenda. Once I have settled that, I am looking at on farm trainings for prospective agric investors. A farm like the famous songhai farm but it will take time.when I am ready, I should give a shout on nairaland here by Gods grace. I need to read your post again to give you some precautions.


Now, for people who are dropping their e mails, its not a bad idea, but I think keeping conversations open will be the best education fellow readers and contributors can ever have. Me too want to read this thread and get educated. We are all learning so please, I am begging, let's be liberal and security counscious. Thank you!


@vpaymoney:
Please becareful, nigerians somethime don't know what is disturbing them.
Before it was aloe vera crase, later, it was moringa and now its quail eggs. Who knows what next?
But if you still insist on your moringa cultivation, show your interest in another post and I will tell you what I know about the crop.
It is planted on my farm even now!

@datola:
Please read my previous post when I replied someone just now. You have almost all you need to start. Perimeter fencing wount be a bad idea! How I wish I can draw or make some dramatic explanations now but let me put it this way sir.
Have you been to a oil palm nursery before? Did you see the way they arrange it to form a rectangle shape on the ground. Let's say that is how you peg your land just use tiny wire nettings

@ e-jaja
I like your desire !
Maize and cassava is a good mix.
There are many things involved oooo!
You want to produce for factories, have you asked for how much they buy from farmers?
My person, from what I know(I stand to be correcteds sha) they don't give a good price.
You should ask why majority of farmers don't sell to them but rather sell to local garri makers.
Sir/madam, there are many problems involved in crop production ooo. I stand tall to say it ooo! To weed my okro and ammaranthus farm now is a problem for me even as I am talking with you even with my sprinkler irrigation gaan, I still have challenges.
Mind you I am not discouraging you o but I am preparing your mind for the task ahead.
Please
My advise for anyone that want to go into crop production now should think about "irrigation" because we are experiencing climate change now even here in nigeria. Rainfall, sunshine and relative humidity are not predictable. To your amaizement, irrigation systems are not that expensive as you all may think. Irrigation systems are many and there should be one that can suite your purse.

@abojupupa
I like your courage. Its not easy to start any business in nigeria not even with the prevailent circumstances inherent.
Your choice of free range snail farming is good but their some structures you need to put in place.

You need to make a mosquito net cum flexible net wall for your snails. Inside your building, depending on your budget, make 1m high fence round a smaller portion of your fallow ground and. Use insecticides at the exterior of the fence. If you can afford a trench, that will be the lasting solution but if not just use the insecticide spray every week and you will have a safer environment. A systemic broad spectrum herbicide like "glyphosphate, active ingredient" will also help outside the fence. If you can use block, then you will need to cover it so that the snails wount climb and escape.

please i will respond to other peoles posts later.my bottom is getting hot oooo i need to attend to other things.
i will anser:
emmysteve,5p1naz, bawelat, mike58,yemmit90, eddyspice,usa.number,star2008,onuels, eminikansoso,vpaymoney,boluwajokosegun,
and others.
bonsoiree!!!

Snail management:
You can raise your snails without buildings. You raise it in an open field but there are ways you will go by it. There are precautions so that you will not run at lose. You need a good land here and. You need to control snail enemies and theft fom fellow humans. This system can be as simple has making seed beds and planting crops on it so that the crops can provide food and shelter for the snails. You dont necesarily need tree crops or go planting maize and the likes. Irrespective of your little budget, you can arrange a farm that will be befiting for your status and i think that is why we go to school. So that we can always improvice and use the available best substitute for the job when there is absence of the original material. I think you all get my points now. If you want to travel from lagos to ibadan and your car broke down and lets say you have exams. The basic thing is to get to ibadan on time. You can take a light, go by a bus, a car, a truck, a bike, a bicycle or treak. The major thing is for you to get to ibadan on time, so any means that is available should be taken advantage of , then we look at the pros and cons of using any of the transport system. Right?
Thank you.
In this system, your snails. Is given an "In- situ" experience/ "living in the wild" experience.


Semi intensive method: in this method, you rear snails in pens but you also plant crops inside the pen as you also feed the snails too. They have a semi _ wild experience. Here you will need to water the pens unlike the extensive (previous) method. Snails grow faster here and you can always go there to monitor them at anytime you want.

Another method is the intensive method where you make concrete pens and take care of them there.
If you want to start big, you can have brooding house, where you will have incubation room, nursery and other rooms. Its only government that can operate on this scale because of its capital intensivity and labour works.

Before i forget, you can use tyres as your pen also. You only need to cover it with net on top and fill the first tyre with sand. Depending on the size of the tyres, it can take 5- 10 big snails. I think you get it now. Your creativity is needed in anyplace your fund falls short. You can also use basckets too. Turn the basckets upside down and use it or use another basket to cover another one containing soil.

If you have money, you can use fowl(poultry bird) wooden cage. You cover the sides and top with nets like mosquito nets and flexible iron nets and you can put thefour legs in insectiside(that is if you have the money). You can use "spent engine oil"/ or black engine oil. Put it inside empty babasala milo can and put the engine oil. This will control the snail enemies.
If you want me to speak big big grammars, i can but i think this simple constructions will help someone/investor that is not as educated as me. Infact, a man is said to be educated if he can express a big topic in simple ways. I have done a sensitization job for an organisation before. I did all my work and when i got to the evnue to deliver my lecture, it was something else, rural people more rural than what i thought were my audience. Infact, the language of communication first of all change from english to general yoruba that is if they are good enough to understand it. My people no be small thing o. But we thank God. I was not put to shame.and just yesterday i thought it wise to start trainign people on general practical agriculture because i have seen enough problems to launch me out to encourage not deceive people into starting small. Agric is worth doing if you can take the pains to learn.

Let me give a formula for snail mash if you care. I saw it in a book from centre for urban agriculture and developement. I dont take credit for other peoples labours.
Here is it:
Caco3 30%
Calcium phosphate 4%
Soya meal 20%
Sunflower seeds 5%
Wheat flower 40%
Vitamin mix or premix 1%
If you can afford it, make it and if not feed your snails with these other things:
Pawpaw(ripe or unripe)
Bababa or baba leve and peels
Tomato, cucumber, orange, watermelon, pineapple, plantain, corn, avocado, cashew, ugwu, cocoyam, potatoe, casava, egg plant, beans,brewery waste, anything you can feed you pig or goat, give your snails EXCEPT "SALT"!

I think this my little "workable knowledge" will be of help to just 1 person. It will give me great joy and encourage me to forge ahead with my training dreams.

I gave my company line here sometime back but i dont have fone to accomodate that sim for now. Let me give my personal line. Please send me a text message to introduce yourself first before calling me so that i get to save your number before you call. Your questions is best sent through text please because i like to sit down and attend to someone at a time secludedly. Its not every time i have money to suscribe. I am true. A nigerian with a fragile name and i stand tall to protect ti. If i cant help you, i will tell you. I am not God that is all sufficient and all knowing!

Merci beaucoup tontle monde!
Your friend,
The Unbeatable.

Pls, can someone teach me how to upload pix on nairaland so that i can make sketches and upload them. It will really help you to get the basis because if you dont know it, artisans(carpenters, bricklayers, etc) will bamboozzle you trying to make more money from you.

Let me talk abot (dormant/ fasting snails):
When snails cover their shell with a cyst or whiitish membrane. It make dem dormant and they can die dat day. It is caused by dryness of the pen. This happens to me too. Remove the cyst and dip d'snail inside a bucket of water. Then provide fresh vegetables, they will pick up from there.

I know that i am repeating some of the things i earlier posted but lets just continue.
Let me quickly treat this areas before i go out:
Snail management/ housing types: depending on your budget.
Snail feeding
How to start your own farm.
Enemies of snails

let me drop some lines here on snail farming.
practical ni o. if you try it and it did not work, come back here and confront me!
snail farming is cheap and easy to start and can become a major source of income to nigerians!
snails have both local and export potentials!
snails are usually scarce and expensive during dry season (from now till march). snails can be reared at the back yeard too. you dont really need a plot to start your snailry. a 1mx1m space can be used to start gaan! it depend on the population.
snail meat contains 9 out of 10 essential amino acids and is good for children. include it in your menu and you will see your children grow like broilers or akintola plant (chromolaena odorata) (laffing)
it is a delicacy and good business, i must tell you but it takes time before it yield oooooo!
you must have a source of income ooo. it does not bring money everyday or every month o because it takes at least 8 months to mature o.
it was until lately when i consulted a book before i knew i am blessed with many of the african snail species.
i have one like helix aspersa( the white cream colour ipere/ilakose), helix pomatia(this one just die and na just 1 i get) i have achachatina marginata, achatina achatina, achatina fulica !
in all i have more than 60 mature, grower and juvenile snails. hey, i am a young farmer ooo. my farm is not even up to a year old. i have been working for other farms all my life. thank god, my eye don open now. so if you have the priviledeg of coming to my "ever increasing farm", and you did not see big structures. so that you will not be disappointed. infact, i dont have a regular job but god is feeding me and i dont want to work for people again except for consultancy which i do for both private and public(govt) where applicable. note that what i said is in reported speach ( past tense). so incase you have work for me, abeg give me make i chop and increase.
now lets go back to our discussion abeg.

snails despite being hermaphrodite, still cross breed. they mount themselves. havent you seen them before? as if they are walking on themselves. they dont need to off clothe like human beings before doing things (laffing)!

please take note of these factors when siting your snailry farm( so that you wount put it near your genetator house or dung hill.;
population density: the lower the population in a pen, the faster their growth. ( that is one of my problems now, i over crowded my basket pens/containers)
stress caused by noise, light, vibrations, dirty environment, irregular feeding, frequent touch. that irregular feeding is also one of my problems because of my schedules and "no money stress" sometimes (laffing seriously)
also the watch the type of concentrate feed you give them. snails need foods containinf lime. any of the limes,(quick lime, caustic lime, slake lime, hydrocarbonate cahco3, agric lime) you need minute quanttity o. dont put plenty and say i am d one dat adviced you o. i will not be liable for any measurement error o

let me make you laff abit, sometime ago (2007) i bought 55 fingerlings and i mis use cahco3, within 5 hours of arrival from ibadan o, all of the fishes died except 1 which i threw away. (life is like that, you loose and you gain) (still laffing)
please dont mind me that my post is not organised o
i just type as it comes to my mind. that is why i need to be in a good mind frame and good mood to be able to post on naira land and i also need to know the questions of people apart from the fact that i am a multidimentional speaker. abeg pardon me, na my style be dat and very natural. i dislike copying other peooples lifestyle!

First of all, i must say "THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING" to BABA GOD.
No one knows anything except he is given to know!
And everyone must know that " you have not yet known abit from all you ought to know" so, " dont ever boast that you know sonething because the end of your knowledge is the begining for another person"

Restine on this starter notes, i want to respond to some of the prevoius posts!

My people, please bear with me for this moment, i will try to compose some of my experiences as a snail farmer,dry season vegetable farmer, pig farmer, plantation agriculturist, soil conservationist, environmentalist and now poultry farmer. I will validate and cross fertilize both theory and practicals of snailry and other aspects of agric that i know. Please give me few time to sort out these pressures. I promise i will pour out myself for FREE.

Evalastingly practising Agric,

The Unbeatable!

Thank God today's work is almost gone. Brooding day old chicks again after 4 years is really an experience. At first, it was low temperature, later, it was extremely high temperature thank God I came to the scene bya accident, I would have roasted my DOC today. Just resting now since 6:15 am.

Reward for hard work is more work a wise man said. The Unbeatable believes this.

To all my people:
I have been quite busy with farm work. Please forgive my absence. Building my ugu nursery, expanding my piggery, wetting my vegetable farm, preparing my brooder's house in readiness for my pullets coupled with the stress of commercial transport(my car broke down) and trekking often knock me to my bed early on many days for sometime now but this are getting better now. Sorry, I am the only worker on my "increasing farm" so, av got to do all the thinkings, planinning, praying, purchasings and sales! I will be available more hopefully next week( lagbara olorun).
I will anser all the questions I can treat according to my knowledge. If you see the bruise on my hand now caused by hitting my hand on the ground while attending to my pigs today, you will pity me (laffing) but life must continue. Every pain is gain(atleast you will learn a lesson from it) starting a "zero emmission farm" and running it no be beans abeg! Make all of una dey yarn beta torhi, I dey come join una abeg. No wait me o just dey talk dey go make me too dey read am !
Your brother,
The Unbeatable!!!

@ eddy spice:
I like you sir. Cucunber cultivation is not for boiz ooo! Its one of the most fragile vegetable to plant. Hmnn, I have cultivated it before. During that time, beans and bread(bricklayer's food) doesn't last more than few hours in my stomach!(Laughing)
Some of you may ask, has unbeatable gone into all agric business before? My answer is No. Then how come he knows and has done many of these ventures ? My answer is, I have not yet known little from all I need to know! I am simply "dangerously bold, risk preferred, and very adventurous. Its not a choice. I can't just help it ni. Sorry to digress!

Now, let's continue jare!
Snailry si not a business that many people will like to do because it does not yield fast. It takes almost a year o. Though it is very easy to maintain sha. Very very easy. Permit me to use construct my sentence that way.

For grascutter farming, hmnn(thoughtful). There is a "Ready market" for it ALWAYS! I have not gone into this business before but I have a little information on it.
I will give you freely! ( How I wish I can get a chalk board now). Ok let's continue.
1: grasscutters are wild animals and we need to create an "IN-SITU" environment for them. (In-situ means, we need to make an environment that is closely related to their original home). An example is "the zoological garden" and a "forest reserve or national park". We need to create an ebvironment like that of "forest reserve or national park" EXPERIENCE for the grasscutters but majority of people cage them. You can't get the best from these animals this way.( I stand to be corrected anyway)but this is what I know. Many people have built houses for grasscutters in my area but after some time they go out of production. I have a solution to this housing problem. I got this information from one of my friends ( a gardener at my former farm) but I will need to practise it before I can autthenticate it but deep inside of me, I know that it will work.

2: Feeding; natural RODENT food is advised sir. Give little concentrate feed that is if it is inevitable.
I will not talk more on this question because I don't have grasscutters on my farm for now. If you care about more information irrespective of my "in experience", I can now express more of my mind to you on this topic. Its not that I can not lecture or even teach undergraduates about this topic ooo but I don't have " on - farm" teaching experience on it. But theories are good for practicals though!
Please don't mind my "stupid sincerity" because this is out of business rules but this is just meeee. I am sorry if I am spoiling business for some people ooo. Anyone can rely on my posts because it is borne out of what I know and experienced. If you practice it and it dint work, YOU CAN STAND AGAiNST ME AND DISCREDIT ME ANYTiME,ANYDAY!!!
Good morning to you all.

@ corner chen:
Good stuffs youv got here! Advise is solicited here not advert. But if you can place your goods here with their prices and let us all learn how your equipments work, how to do simple repairs and have their close substitute, I will be your first customer. I am deeply in need of honest and sustainable business "friends" not "customers". If customers see thesame goods you have at a place that is nearer to them, they will buy, if it is cheaper, they will buy, if it is plentier, they will buy also BUT a friend will drive several miles "just to come and buy from you". Its not all about gain but relationship. Make friends not customers because in days of trouble, your friends will raise "FUNDS"for you.
I can be "that friend" only if you believe in my "mindset"
"Do unto others what you wish they do to you"

Your Pal,
The Unbeatable.

@emmy steve:

I admire you sir! You said you needed to start your farm before sticking with us. That's the spirit!
I can't wait to have you on board sir! You are an inspiration to me. I am an advocate of work because there is "dignity in labour".
There is a dimension of knowlege you pursue when you are an employee and there is another dimension of chase you give to knowlegef when you are an employer!
When you are an employee, you stand to bear no liability but all liability is yours if you are the employer. Start a business, employ someone if you can't, do all the work yourself with your family and friends, with the course of time, things will get better and you will be happy you did.

To all: atleast, feed your family If you can't feed others. That is the first step in "Family Defence"! Defend your family!!!

@ eddy spice:

I need more of your details to be able to recommend which of snailry or grasscutter production you can do.
1 your location ( state and local govt)
2 are you working full time or part time in your place of work?
3 why did you want to do agric and why did you choose these animals?
There are plenty other questions I may ask you so that I can know your interest and your kind of person so that this work will not become abardonned project! Help me so that I can help you. Give me more information so that I can know what you need to know and in what quantity and quality. Just flow, say your mind and WE can pick points from it and all of us will help you.
Thank you!
Sleep well everyone. God bless Nigerians!

@ bawelat,
Irrespective of your "insincerity" today, I will still respond to your question on "goatry"

Goatry is not a business for starters! The business appreciate over time and you will need to have a source of income. You can't depend on funds from your goatry business to give you your daily food if not you will kill the business yourself!
Now, let's get to business. Answer these questions sharp sharp
1. How much can you aFford to start the business?
2 your location matters. It will influence your choice of breed to buy.
3 availability of "range" ( do you have a fence house? Goats don't grow while tied to a stake. They grow if allowed to walk arround. That's the secret!
4 is there protection against pilferry (thieves/ ole) or poisoning from bad people?
5 have you done market research in your area about the marketting of goats?
You will need a vet doctor, can you afford it? If not befriend one of them o ( laughing)
6 you need shelter against adverse weather conditions. ( Do you know that water don't touch some parts on the head of goats? Dats why they shake their head while running for shelter on a rainny day)
7 can you cope with the menance of their bleep and dungs?
8Can you make pap and milk and spoon feed them if they are sick and can't eat? Especially the young ones!

These are some of the questions I can remember now. Please answer them in your heart and if you are bold and sure enough? Reply my questions here and let's discuss further.
You can still count on me if need be but you need to be straight forward with me. If you don't know, before I make any post, I still go back and read previous posts before replying any question or making any comment.

Evalastingly at it,
The unbeatable.
Mind you, dis is my nairaland name oooo! I am a cool Yoruba man and agric is my PRIDE!!!

@ my Oga at the top ( Dr Isa)! I admire your strides babami. You are resourceful and you give info freely. You are my kind! Keep it up Babami!
@ your previous post on maizze cultivation breakdown. Its lovely Babami but the information there is too "doctored"! Those are class room and news paper maize cultivation.
Now, let me make you laff abit, this week monday morning, while on the farm working, suddenly I trew my cutlass away and ran away like a mad man, you know what? A group of bees attacked me (laughing). You will pity meeee. It was yesterday that I summond courage while in the company of one of my brothers, that I went back there to find my cutlass and spray insecticde there.

These things need to be told to prospective young farmers that there are huddles on the way but the end of the race is always "Good money"

@ ur posts on snails diseases, my brother, I don't think that write up was written in this our obodo Nigeria! The person said he fed his snails with "pasta". To the best of my knowledge, I only know that pasta is written on the nylon of "dangote spaggetti or maccaroni abi indomie noddles. Nighati mii tii yo ( when my belly never full) how can I feed snails with ounje eeyan (human being food) (laughing).
Please don't mind me, the only time I get rest is when I crack sensible jokes while working. I just feel goood and I don't get tired easily!
Now let me say this:
If you want to know the health of your snails, drop them inside a bucket of water, if it floats, its sick and if it sinks to the base of the countainer, it is healthy!
If the foot of the snail has bleaches, it is sick.
If the snail has" water boil" it is sick. If the snail is " fasting" (covers its face with whitish membrane) and after dropping it inside the water, it did not come out and eat then I think something is wrong with the snails.
All these I have observed on my farm. I have several notes on snail farming but I decided to tell you "on farm info". These are the informations I think may be useful to many people that wants to venture into agricultural productions not all those notes we wrote while in school then. They are only good for us that are professionals not the "fragile public". I say "fragile public" because majority of people don't want to do business that they know less about and they wount try putting it in a "relatively dangerous business" like agric and others.
Thank you!

@ bawelat
I wanted to advise you to go into vegetable farming but thank God you said you are already into it. Harvesting starts 51 days after planting in maize but its 21 days after planting in vegetable farming. Majority of these common vegetables have short live spans and are good source of funds.

As much as I want to unveil the "Devil" behind farming to everyone that cares to invest, I am also very careful of people who try to play games with me.

@ bawelat: in your previous post, you said you are un employed and you are going to source for funds bla bla bla. And I was telling you how and what starting small means. Now, in your last post, you said " I have started farming on a half plot left from my land. I plant ewedu and efo. Now you want funds."

Ogami sir, your words are contradictory and as from now, I will be more careful!
For God sake, we are relatively anonymous online, is sincerity and honesty too hard to practise? Anyway, I refuse to be vexed!

To all: as you lay your bed, so will you lie on it!

good morning all!
apologies tendered for this late response!
am iiii forgiven? because i got notifications from nairaland on topic update but i was busy all through.
let me quickly respond to some of the points i jotted down

@bawelat

you said currently, you are un employed and you want to cultivate maize commercially and you want to be your own boss! i perceive you dont even have adequate fund atall.
hmnnn!
i think, i can advise you because i had been in "this state" some time ago. if you permit me, i think i can start this way:

you need to stay with someone that can help you with food and shelter other things like clothing and transportation are secondary!
you need to visit farmers often and chat with them for long hours( working with them for free like peeling cassava, shelling maize, sweeping and many more) asking both sensible and insensible questions with plenty humour. dont tell them you want to go into farming o! ask them of the challenges they are facing and farm problems.
our people used to say an adage that i dont agree with and it states ( is it because of meat that you want to call malu(cow) "broda"?) i translated it ni o. its sweet to say in yourba language.
my people, nothing goes for nothing! call malu broda, prostrate for a mad man for that he can allow you pass by unhurt!
learn to accomodate "insults".
once you have your facts and figures from people that are real farmers, then you can take your book and start planing how to farm.
start telling people you will soon start farming in few weeks. keep saying it both to listening and uninterested people. many will discourage you but some will advice you without giving you anything. while few will give you comething . those are the people that believ in you. never be far from them and dont go and bore them with your presence"always" i hope you get my point there. you can go visit your "sponsors" once every 3 days and give them situation report. your sponsor may even be your friend, brother or aunties!

pray, pray and pray!
work, work and work!
you need more information everyday!

let me pause here. i need to travel. i will continue when i am back (lagbara olorun) by night!

an adage says:
open a school and you authomatically close the prison gates! thank you.

Now, about snail diseases, I will talk about them later. I lost about 5 of my snails 2 days ago( but I fried and eat them o) I can't loose twice!!! (Smilling)!
Ise loogun ise ( work is the antidote of poverty)
Owuro lojo ( morning is meant for working) am off to farm!

@mike58
Snail rearing is one of the simplest agricultural ventures!
Snail housing is simple to construct! Let me explain several housing types and you can use anyone your fund can carry.
1- use baskets to cover them and feed them from there. (This is the type I am using now because this is my level) (smilling)!
2- use of wooden cage. You can use wooden poultry or rabbit cage but it must have its opening at the top! Yes, at the top. You can cover the base of the cage with tampolin or thick nylon or rags or something that can cover the base and support soil. Put humus rich soilin it( dark coloured soil found in refuce areas or where feaces(human, animal) is. If you can't get that, get any soil , mix with any feaces and moisten it(add water enough to wet it not run off o)
Put the soil in the cage and you can now introduce your snails. Mind you, start with any snail that you have aCcess to. Majority of snails grow to a considerable extent.

About my location, I currently have my production unit at Owo local govt. You know this is INTERNET o and you know that WE ARE ALL NIGERIANS! Don't get me wrong! Once I know you in person and as time goes on and I have seen (with my korokoro eyes) that you have started your farm, I can take you to my INCREASING farm!

About meeting me in person, I am often on the Road! Drop your phone number here and I will contact you once I am in Akure. I am "aBIT" always busy and I don't like disappointing people apart from always keeping to my words because my words is my "bank account"! I don't play with it.
I should be in Akure today sha but many factors can alter my movements.
08024051709 is my business line but I borrowed someone the phone this morning. Please post your number here. "I WILL CHECK IT "

My people, one day. The "OIL WELLS" may dry up, what will be left of us?
FARM and save your FAMILY from FAMINE