Snail production is increasingly becoming one of the attractive areas of the agricultural sector as the annual demand for snails in Ghana cannot be exaggerated and the international trade in snails keeps flourishing.
In September last year, The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) encouraged Ghanaians to capitalize on the global snail value chain business which reached $2 billion.
Contributing her quota to create jobs in the snail industry, the Member of Parliament for Korle Klottey in the Greater Accra region, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings in partnership with Agrihouse Foundation, an indigenous agricultural advocacy group, has organized a one-day intensive training workshop in snail farming for 25 youths at Osu in Accra.
The participants were taught the various aspects of snail farming and received starter packs and certificates donated by the MP.
The Phase II of the “It’s Possible” monthly skills training programme, was implemented a few years ago under the partnership.
The topics discussed include snail farming systems, the nature of snails, practical hints for snail farmers, snail structures, processing, branding and marketing.
Each participant is expected to apply what he/she learned by setting up and growing their own commercially viable snail farms.
As part of the It’s Possible Project, there is a schedule-free monthly training event that comes with starter packs on the last Friday of every month, with a focus on snail, rabbit and mushroom farming.
While expressing gratitude during the training programme, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings commended the management of Agrihouse Foundation for their efforts to train the youths in agriculture which she described as the backbone of the Ghanaian economy.
Dr Zanetor said that it was exciting working on the project for the past years and it was to ensure that the programme achieved its target, adding that they don’t want the participants to fail and that is the reason they are giving them starter packs in the form of snails so that they can go home and start work right away.
Talking about her passion for agric, the lawmaker said she was introduced to agric during her high school days and that her love for the sector has since grown.
“This is something that we are doing for our own country and our communities to support people in order to become self-sufficient as they can make money to make life easier for them,” said Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings.
The Korle Klottey MP charged the participants to work hard so they can have good stories to share to encourage others to also venture into the sector.
Source and photo credit: Myjoyonline
