ABSTRACT

The study was carried out to investigate the economics of small scale snail production and marketing entrepreneurs in Abia State, Nigeria. Multi-stage random sampling technique was employed in selecting 120 respondents (68 snail rearing and 52 snail marketing entrepreneurs). Data collected for the study were analysed using descriptive statistics, net returns and multiple regressions. Based on the data collected and analysed, the study found that the average ages of the snail rearing and marketing entrepreneurs were 44.3 years. A good population of 52.94% of snail rearing entrepreneurs were males while majority 94 .23% of snail marketers were females. The average years of snail farming and marketing experiences were 6.4 years and 9 years respectively. Greater proportion 97.06% of snail rearing entrepreneurs rely on hiring labour and 100.0% of the snail marketers rely on family labour. The four major channels of distributing snails in the study area included: (i) snail rearing entrepreneurs, consumers; (ii) snail rearing entrepreneurs, wholesalers, consumers; (iii) snail rearing entrepreneurs, retailers, consumers and (iv) snail rearing entrepreneurs, wholesalers, retailers, consumers. The result of this study on Gross Margin (GM) and profitability of snail rearing and marketing showed that the Total Revenue (TR) of the snail rearing entrepreneurs per production cycle was ₦158,698.50 and Gross Margin (GM) of ₦80,386.30. The Net Return (NR) was ₦76,713.10 and a Profitability Index (PI) of 0.48. On the other hand, the result of the Gross Marketing Margin of snail marketing entrepreneurs showed Total Revenue of ₦28,549.42, Gross marketing margin of ₦9,537.62, Net marketing margin of ₦8,932.20, Marketing Efficiency of 1.14, percentage (%) marketing efficiency of 114.27 and Benefit Cost Ratio of 1.46. The result of Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression model presented showed double-log (Cob-Douglas) functional form had the best fit, based on the values of R2 (0.8904). Six (6) variable were statistically significant which included: education, experience, primary occupation, equipment cost, stock size and marketing cost. For socioeconomic determinants of performance of snail marketers, the linear functional form had the best fit, based on the values of R2 (0.7603). Four variables (education, primary occupation, cost of feed and purchase price) were significant and statistical determinants that influenced net marketing margin of snail marketers. Some of the identified problems of snail rearing and marketing entrepreneurs are: serious pest attack, frequent incidence of diseases, high mortality rate, lack of fund to expand business and high marketing cost and charges etc. The study among others recommended provision of adequate finance by financial institutions to increase farmers’ access to credits.