蜗牛经济 商机无限

A snail’s hard shell is not enough to protect them from Nigerians. Meet Ismail AbdulAzeez, a snail farmer. And in Nigeria, his business is anything but slow, because in the local cuisine, these animals are a delicacy and one that is now starting to export (to) abroad.

-How big can these guys grow? Big from these guys to…?

-Three years. Two years.

-To that?

-Yeah.

-Two years?

-Yeah.

-And that market is in Nigeria, obviously?

-Both North Koera and Estonia.

-So who extend them? Who are you exporting these snails to?

-By ourselves right now. UK, Norway, *** European continent.

AbdulAzeez has just sold his latest stock to local restaurants and hotels, but such small-scale farming, he believes, is a perfect start-up business to help lift young entrepreneurs out of poverty. And so far, he says he’s taught over 1,000 people and says they could earn over $15,000 each over two years.

-To get something like this, you spend about 25 naira. As earning, you are working with about 10,000 snails at the time. Are you getting it?

-Yes. So 25 naira. And so how much will that sell for?

-This can sell for 2.50** , depending on **

-So that’s like as 10 times profit.

-Yeah.

-Fried with tomato and chilli, they are cooked until crunchy. And the cost for this dish can be up to $30.

-Spicy pepper snail. Crunchy, taste very good, perfect.

-Yes, while, you see, for you, it’s OK, because you eat pepper snails all day, but I have never tasted it. I’ve never tasted snails before, so, let’s, OK, let’s give it a go.

-Now. Err, quite chewy. And the sauce is delicious.

They may be an acquired taste, but for Ismail, he can’t breed them fast enough.

Christian Purefoy, cnn, Lagos, Nigeria