Mechanisms for Enhancing Snail Farming Among Farmers for Employment Generation and Poverty Reduction in Ebonyi State (Published)
Unemployment and poverty are very common twin socio-economic problem in Ebonyi State, inspite of the employment opportunities in snail rearing. Thus, this study was carried out to identify mechanisms for enhancing snail farming for employment generation and poverty reduction in the state. The study adopted survey research design through questionnaire to elicit information from 144 respondents. Data gathered through questionnaire were analyzed using mean to answer the research questions. Data were gathered, analyzed and presented in order of the four research questions developed by researchers to guide the study. Results of the analysis indicated that farmers required skills to identify conducive pen environment, select reliable and viable snail stocks, properly feed the snail, prevent disease and pests and sell the snail farm produce. The results also, showed that farmers need pens and houses, feeds, weighing scale, access to low credit, subsidized inputs and favourable market channels. It was then recommended that Ebonyi State government should make policies that favour snail farming, provide subsidized inputs and train farmers on snail rearing skills. Also, farmers should utilize mechanisms identified by this study to enhance snail farming in the state.
Keywords: Employment, Farmers, Poverty, mechanism, snail farming