Commercial snail farming gains pace

People mainly from the ethnic community of Ramchandrapur village under Kaharol upazila of Dinajpur usually spend a portion of their day catching snails in Dhepa river, which once was a significant source for edible breeds of the shelled gastropod.

While cooked snail meat is a popular dish in countries like France and India, the otherwise foreign delicacy is also enjoyed in parts of Bangladesh.

However, the natural supply of freshwater snails from numerous rivers in the country's north has fallen considerably due to excessive catching.

Ladikhi Tudu, an elder of the ethnic community in Kaharol upazila, said that while he has been collecting snails from various rivers for the past decade, the average catch dropped in recent years.

"I am not getting as big of a catch as I used to," he said, adding that many locals started earning their livelihoods by catering to the high demand for snails in the region.

But as natural sources are gradually being depleted, some marginal farmers in Parbatipur upazila have come up with a new way to manually increase production considering the rising demand.

As such, they started integrated fish-snail cultivation in their ponds.

Gram Bikash Kendra, a non-government organisation based in Parbatipur, provides support for the farmers to this end.

So far, 118 farmers in the upazila have started producing snails in their ponds.

The demand for snail meat is consistently high across the globe for its nutritional values, according to experts of the Food Processing and Preservation Department of the Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU) in Dinajpur.

And although snails are not a widely popular food item in Bangladesh, their cultivation requires little investment and other inputs.

In return, it provides nutrient-dense snail meat which is still mostly considered as duck feed.

Gathering snails is an essential source of income for many rural dwellers in Bangladesh and other countries but it is unwise to harvest them from wild sources as it could hurt the region's biodiversity.

So, commercial snail production could make up for the drop in supply, experts said.

Commercial snail cultivation in Parbatipur first began in 2019 but has since extended to neighbouring upazilas such as Birampur.

Apple snail, an edible species of the shelled gastropod, is currently being produced in these areas.

During a recent visit to Parbatipur, this correspondent found that financially weak fish farmers were using their ponds for commercial snail cultivation.

Asha Begum, a resident of the upazila's Khorakhai village, said she started farming apple snails at her 4-decimal pond just last year.

"When I heard of snail cultivation in ponds, I was keen to start it as there is a high demand for snail meat in the area," said Asha, who sells snails worth Tk 200 daily.

Besides, there are no additional investment at all as fish feed is enough for snail cultivation, she added.

Shariful Islam, another farmer in the area, said all the by-products of snail cultivation are usable.

Its shell can be used as poultry feed and also to make lime, he added.

Manik Roy, a fish trader of Bhaberbazar in Parbatipur, said he has been selling snails alongside fish for two years.

"My daily sale is around 20 kilogrammes," he said, adding that each kilogramme of snail goes for about Tk 40.

Putul Hrishi, a youth of the ethnic community in Chakla village, found a better living from snail meat sales. He gets orders from various districts almost every day for processed snail meat, which sells for about Tk 300 per kilogramme.

He said that commercial snail cultivation is a new concept in his village and the dish remains largely outside of most diets in the country despite being a highly nutritious food.

Hrishi urged the government to take the initiative to begin exports of locally processed snail meat.

Professor Maruf Hossain, chairman of the Food Processing and Preservation Department of HSTU, said snails are a major source of protein.

"And as there is high demand abroad, the export initiative of processed snail meat could help earn revenue, and the farmers will benefit," he added.