NEPC Trains Exporters On Snail Production, Packaging For Export

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has trained exporters in Imo on snail farming, processing and packaging for exportation. The one-day training took place in Owerri on Friday. Speaking at the workshop, Executive Director of the NEPC, Dr Ezra Yakusak, said that the training was one of many efforts by the Council to reduce dependency on oil and gas, while simultaneously growing the nation’s economy. Speaking on the theme “Producing Snail for Export,“ Yakusak who was represented by the NEPC Coordinator in Imo, Mr Anthony Ajuruchi, said that snail farming had proven to have the potential to feed the nation. He said that with a total global estimate of about $2.1 billion, snail farming, if given necessary attention, could grow Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) especially with the prevailing local conditions that support the development of the practice such as suitable climate and availability of green vegetation. “We’re raising the capacity of entrepreneurs to equip them to join the global snail market and compete meaningfully so as to grow Nigeria’s GDP using non oil exports. “We are also looking forward to organising the Imo Exporters Summit and plans are already in top gear. “Entrepreneurs in Imo and Nigeria are making frantic efforts in the export industry and we will keep offering our support and mentorship to keep them at par with their counterparts in other parts of the world,” he said. Also speaking, one of the resource persons, Miss Chinonso Onwukwe, the Chief Executive Officer of Suncious Farms Limited, said that modern technology had been developed to overcome the natural wetness of snails and be able to preserve them over long periods. “With oven drying, snails can be preserved for some six months to one year. Snail farming is not capital intensive yet it is lucrative. “It can be consumed by all especially as it is a healthy food with high protein and calcium contents. Everything in a snail including the shell is nutritious and lucrative. “We market our products in the US, UK and other places and there is nothing to regret about snail farming. It’s not time consuming yet it’s super lucrative, I can confirm,” she said. According to another resource person, Mr Joseph Ozor, said that though the natural habitat of snails has been threatened by urbanisation, there are still substitute methods of snail farming which produce desired results. Ozor, a Biologist, urged participants at the workshop to venture into large scale snail production for commercial purposes and to take advantage of mentorship opportunities in the field.

FG, World Bank train 80 animal health workers in Yobe

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday, commenced training of 80 private and public health workers in Yobe. Dr Yusuf Maina, Director, Veterinary Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Yobe, said the programme was being sponsored by the World Bank through the Ministry. Maina said that the aim of the programme was to change the way disease outbreaks were reported from analogue to digital for effective management and control. According to him, the training is nationwide. Today is Yobe’s turn. We have divided the training into two segments because of the volume of participants. “Today we are doing for the Area Officers, veterinaries who are in charge of local government areas and then private practitioners, who operate private veterinary services. The training for other category of participants, the surveillance agents, who are closer to people in the rural communities might be carried out next week. “After the training we will give them applications so that whenever they see anything reportable, they will just input, and the report will go direct to the central device for further action,” he said. Maina said the programme would be dealing with emerging and re-emerging diseases, adding that 75 per cent of the emerging diseases come from the animals’ side. “That is why WHO decided to take what is called one health. That is the human health, the animal health and the environmental health. “Under this one health, we come together, we strategise together and fight diseases together,” he explained. One of the participants, Dr Abdussalam Saleh, the Area Veterinary Officer, Nangere Local Government commended the organisers and described the training as timely. Another participant, Dr Hauwa Daya, said the development would ease their work and make it effective.