Galery

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• Low costs for the construction of the farm.
• Low maintenance costs (the snails eat only plants, not fodder).
• Less work (snails’ faeces decompose and act as a natural fertilizer as the soil absorbs them).
• The snails have more space because of deciduous vegetation.
• Reduced risks of development of parasites at the farm (e.g., mites, worms, etc.).
• Moisture in the soil, which is a necessary element for the snails, is used to the maximum. In addition, the snails have direct contact with the soil, thus extracting calcium and other nutrients from it.
• The snail shell becomes hard and strong, which is very important in trade.
• There is a great demand for snails because of the good quality of the meat.
• The snails are delicious because of the food chain and low water content.
• Higher selling price.
• Product certification which allows the exportation of the snails.

Disadvantages

• The snails are exposed to various hazards like falling prey to insects, rodents and birds.
• They are more exposed to weather conditions and to sudden changes in weather.
• Their raising requires a larger area.
• The system allows only one harvest per year.
• It is difficult to estimate the size of the population and the number of snails before collecting them.

Value and annual costs

The cost for the construction of one acre of open-type farm is around 4,000 euro.

It is very difficult to draw up a financial budget for a snail farm, as all the characteristics of the farm (location, water, soil, materials to be used ) and, in general, all the factors that are important must be taken into account.

Construction cost of an open-type snail farm with an area of ​​10 acres

The cost is divided into two parts: around 1,000-1,500 euro per acre for the initial work on the plot (wire mesh, sheet metal, stakes, fertilizers, soil disinfection, etc.). These costs do not include eventual drilling and the purchase of devices to improve the quality of water.

As for Greece, the cost for 5 acres is approximately 14,500 euro and includes the materials which are purchased only once (wire mesh, snails, know-how) and the seeds of the snails’ food, which are the main annual cost of the farmers. Other annual costs in addition to the cost of seeds are those of water, electricity, labour costs, maintenance costs of machinery, transport costs.

It is important to note that the cost of labour is the highest and the incomes will be higher if the farmer takes care of the farm alone.