Introduction
The natural populations of snails, the traditional source of commercial supply in Europe, have declined to the point of near extinction as a result of indiscriminate harvesting and the use of herbicides and agrochemicals in agriculture and livestock. This situation is aggravated by the reduction of their habitat when the lands are used for industrial and other purposes.
The growing demand and its relevant economic value, promoted the development of breeding systems and the installation of snail farms in Europe, establishing itself as a profitable commercial activity, internationally recognized.
Even so, world production is very far from meeting market demand, it increases year after year. Belgium, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Japan, the United States, Greece, Sweden and others are major consumers and despite having their own production they must resort to imports.
The species selected according to its adaptability characteristics for captive breeding, and the quality of its meat, is Hélix aspersa, or the well-known brown garden snail, which was introduced to our country by the Spanish and Italians around 1850.
This species is the one in greatest worldwide demand for use in haute cuisine.
France, the largest consumer, is around 50,000 tons of consumption per year.
HELIX ASPERSA.
Common garden snail or petit-gris. It is the most used in hatcheries for its rusticity, resistance, adaptation to captivity and especially for its early growth. In our country it is one of the most seen varieties, it is found throughout the Humid Pampa.
This species represents 70% of the helicicultural heritage in Europe.
Perspectives of Argentina
Argentina has optimal ecological and climatological conditions for the production of this food, and has been qualified by the European community together with Chile and Peru, as a suitable region.
High unmet demand creates unbeatable prospects for its development.
The advantage of producing off-season is invaluable, it puts Argentina in a privileged situation, and if we offer quality products in volume according to market demands, the possibility of heliciculture as a profitable activity of sustained development in our country is a fact.
The price of the snail increases from year to year, a clear sign of a constant and growing market. It will be essential, for those who venture into the activity, to develop precise techniques in quality control and professional-level management practices to gain access to, gain and maintain a place in the international market.
Due to the diffusion of this activity as a profitable productive alternative, a growing interest has been generated in the last two years, motivating the incursion of innumerable entrepreneurs who, in most cases, are in the experimental stage.
As it is an unknown item, the information available is scarce, unclear and not easily accessible. With regard to regulations and standards, the little that is obtained is incomplete or not easy to understand for those who, (like most potential heliciculturalists), do not have experience or knowledge.
Unfortunately, there has been the appearance of some people (the usual opportunists) who present themselves as knowledgeable on the subject, giving talks and selling courses, offering technical support that later is not specified, and whose knowledge does not go beyond what can be obtained consulting a good book on the specialty.
There are no in-depth studies on the situation of heliciculture in Argentina. Some companies and individual attempts are known, but in general they have not yet completed the stage to start the reproduction period (in fact, no farmed snail has been exported). Most (if not all) of the volume of individuals necessary for the start has been obtained from collection snails, which, although they are necessary to form the initial stock, it is not advisable to use them for mass production, since it promotes the introduction of unknown entities (parasites, bacteria, fungi, etc.) to the rearing enclosure, which could harm productivity, cause mortality, cause the birth of defective individuals, etc., which would determine the delay in production, unforeseen expenses, investment loss,or the possible rejection of the finished product by the buyer, with the consequent damage to the Argentine product, endangering the continuity of the undertakings.
Marketing.
While it is true that there is sustained and rising demand and prices, and that profit margins promise to be substantial, getting started in the snail business brings with it some complexities.
We can assume that the breeding / sale process takes place through three stages:
1. The product. The snail obtained by harvesting or breeding.
2. Your preparation for the sale. (Selection, purging, calibration, cleaning, bagging, labeling, transport, etc.).
3. The sale. Contacts with buyers, agreeing on prices and payment methods, contracts, bank procedures, letters of credit, export procedures, discussion of payment methods (CIF or FOB), etc.
The completion of the aforementioned stages will require:
1st. Knowledge. It is an unavoidable condition to acquire knowledge about breeding, and commercial management. It will be necessary to carry out an analysis that allows knowing if there is an opportunity to carry it out and the possible profitability of it.
2nd. Investment. Implements and facilities.
3rd. Expenses. Inscription and registers: municipal, provincial and national de rigueur.
4th. Infrastructure. Depending on the chosen breeding system, it is necessary to create or condition structures that allow for professional breeding.
5th. Working capital In two stages: 1- pay for the snails' food and the costs of air conditioning and / or maintenance of facilities; 2- buy the packaging materials and finance all operations until the sale is collected. Customs withholding percentages are required in advance, before collecting the sale proceeds.
6th. Workforce. Although the tasks do not require great physical effort, it demands a certain amount of hours of attention to
a) In the net rearing process: cleaning, inspection and feeding, detection and care of positions, incubation and births. Sanitary control.
b) Quality control, selection, calibration, purging, cleaning, bagging, labeling.
c) Commercial management.
Priorities
It is necessary to act quickly by implementing control and regulation measures in order to achieve solid ventures with real perspectives to start up, consolidate and grow. This nascent and promising activity, still very fragile, may have the same purpose as others that were very popular at the time, such as rabbit and chinchilla huts, to name a few.
Its obvious economic potential and the excellent development possibilities in our region, given the favorable weather conditions and it has been declared viable with respect to environmental pollution, makes the intervention of an organism that promotes, encourages and regulates commercial snail farming essential., in order to develop the activity, which once organized and ordered will direct its efforts to obtain a quality standard that allows to achieve the imposition of the product at competitive prices, which will lead to a positioning in the world market.
The importance of this activity at the level of international trade and the potential represented by the future opening of the internal market, (today almost non-existent with its 400 tons per year), requires potential breeders to develop a professional level in terms of the methodology to be applied.
It is essential that future heliciculturists be guided with common sense, through the intervention of agencies that have the support of INTA, made up of the actors themselves, which should investigate and provide professional technical advice and support to achieve an adequate and uniform quality of the Final product.
The future producer must, as a first step, understand and accept the benefits of associative work, understand and accept that he will share a common goal with others. They should be organized forming Regional Producers Associations that represent them before National Associations, official entities, suppliers of inputs, importers, meat processing plants, processing industries, etc.; that it becomes the root of the community development of each of its members.
Said body should take charge of encouraging the proposal of alternatives that promote the generation of added value for the product, promote constant research to optimize quality indices, and carry out economic studies in pursuit of the viability for the construction of processing plants..
Entrepreneurship
The prevailing situation in our country makes the logical financial inconveniences for the start of any undertaking even greater.
One of the advantages of heliciculture is that it allows the entrepreneur to use his wealth of strengths: ingenuity, creativity, work capacity, commitment to his company, etc. Another advantage is the opportunity, it is presented as a profitable alternative with a future projection at a time when everything seems to be negative.
Generally, the entrepreneur lacks organizational capacity in the beginning. It is one of the most marked weaknesses of ventures and usually ends with the anticipated failure of the activity. This organizational deficiency does not allow obtaining adequate production costs and operating expenses become high, it prevents the implementation of a reliable control process that provides a guarantee of uniform quality, volume and frequency of product delivery to the buyer, who demands large volumes and punctuality. on delivery.
The proliferation of isolated hatcheries, ignorance among peers, disorganization, general ignorance, scattered, scarce, inaccurate information, the intervention of unscrupulous people selling courses with the promise of getting rich in a few months and the indifference of the State are presented as a It threatens, causing dire consequences, similar to those of other activities that at the time were proposed as "incomparable" economic outlets and at present have almost disappeared.
Regional associations are an indispensable step if we are to be successful.
Diagnosis of viability
It is essential to diagnose the viability of a business project to start, consolidate and grow, for this a technique called SWOT Diagnosis is used.
This technique aims to analyze and clarify three basic aspects:
1. In what situation do we find ourselves to undertake the activity?
2. What are and should be our priorities for the future?
3. What development options do we have?
It is simple in its application and makes it easier for us to distinguish the positive and negative elements of our internal personal situation with respect to entrepreneurship, which are called Strengths and Weaknesses; and the positive and negative elements of the external situation, in this case with regard to the production of snails, which are called Opportunities and Threats.
Said grouped aspects are defined in the following figure:
|
POSITIVE ASPECTS |
NEGATIVE ASPECTS |
||
|
STRENGTHS Internal |
OPPORTUNITIES External |
WEAKNESSES Internal |
THREATS External |
|
F |
OR |
D |
TO |
Analysis of the internal situation of the helicicultural enterprise in Argentina:
Analysis of the external situation of the helicicultural enterprise in Argentina:
The analysis carried out leaves us in conclusion that:
1st. The potential helicopter grower has the skills (strengths) necessary to carry out the breeding project with a good chance of success.
2nd. The project offers qualities (opportunities) that allow visualizing a profitable, sustainable and sustainable activity with a future projection.
3rd. The entrepreneur must work seriously to cover the apparent deficiencies (weaknesses), dedicating time to experimentation and research, arbitrate the means to access the essential knowledge for the activity, seek and require professional support, dedicate time to planning and organizing the different parenting aspects and processes, putting aside individualism promoting the creation of regional associations.
4th. The associations must promote the creation of fiscal policies that facilitate commercialization, and the intervention of the State promoting the activity and the issuance of specific regulations that regulate the activity. Higher volumes of inputs will be purchased, substantially reducing costs, transportation will become more accessible, marketing costs will drop, and dealing with intermediaries will become more beneficial.
Economic studies may be carried out in pursuit of the viability for the construction of processing plants, thus being able to avoid intermediation.
Breeding systems
* “Given that the different breeding methods (full, mixed and intensive life cycle) have different yields and different production costs, the cost per kilo produced will vary from method to method.
Furthermore, even within each method, producers will have different final costs, depending on the absorption of their different fixed costs. For example, an exclusively helicicultural producer that absorbs all its fixed expenses with the production of snails, and another that, even having more fixed expenses, could produce honey in the same establishment, and “false saffron” and absorbs the fixed expenses with these three products., could the latter have lower costs than the former)
As prices in the market are the same for all producers and do not take into account the particular costs of each one, the producers with the lowest costs will be the ones who earn the most.
Therefore, when choosing the rearing system to use and the structure necessary to exploit it, AN EXHAUSTIVE COST ANALYSIS, which is the only "controllable variable" for the producer, should be essential.
It is the producer who must adapt to the market and not vice versa, and the business will be more profitable for the one who has the lowest costs and best adapts to the market ”.
* Excerpted from comments made by Mr. Enrique Orfila in the forum www.zoetecnocampo.com
To date, three breeding systems are known that can be adopted according to the climatic conditions of the area in which the activity is to be implemented, due to its climate, physical space and / or economic possibilities.
1. Open hatchery - Extensive or full life cycle breeding
It is the longest process of all. According to the climatic characteristics of Argentina, this modality adapts well, it is not very expensive and does not present great handling difficulties.
It requires an area of land of at least one hectare to be profitable. It is divided into sectors of 3 or 4 meters wide by 70 or 90 long limited by a special net fence, (which can be supplanted with half-shade mesh and a little ingenuity), it needs sprinkler irrigation over the entire surface, rows of crops that fulfill the function of shelter and food (lettuce, cabbage, chard, spinach, etc.), solar protection and space to circulate.
2. Mixed farming system
Perhaps it is the most suitable to start, since it allows to limit production according to the needs of advance. One phase of the production process takes place in a controlled environment and the rest in the open air or in greenhouses. Better control of postures and offspring is achieved and facilitates the selection process.
3. Intensive breeding system.
All the activity takes place in closed premises using breeding tables with vertical planes or in cages of similar characteristics, depending on the availability and ingenuity of the producer. This system allows to have large populations in reduced spaces. The environment of these premises must have a temperature control of 18º C / 20º C, and humidity 65% / 90% with a photo period of 12 hours light and 12 hours darkness, thus achieving the ideal climate for continuous reproduction.
Strict control of hygiene, nutrition, temperature and humidity must be exercised, and prophylaxis measures must be maintained.
This system is the one that produces the highest yield per square meter of hatchery, in addition to allowing its installation in regions with adverse climatic conditions. It requires a complete organization and greater man-hours than the other systems.
How to get started
Getting started in a profitable activity requires exhaustive analysis processes of each of the aspects that this activity comprises.
For this, it is necessary to know each and every one of these aspects, taking into account that:
- You must be able to produce and sell what is necessary to cover fixed and variable costs, including retirement as an owner or as a wage, for this you must have all the necessary equipment, anticipate the purchase of what is missing, and have the necessary labor and trained for its operation. You must know the costs that the sale of the production will cause. If you cannot produce or sell the necessary quantity to cover the costs, you must study thoroughly how to lower them without losing quality. As a last measure, you must go to a credit.-
The importance of a business plan
It's like preparing a plot of land to build a house.
A business plan is a carefully prepared document that clearly explains the type of activity chosen, the objectives or goals, and the actions or work that we must carry out to achieve it.
In short, a business plan is like the map that guides the explorer, it allows the entrepreneur to advance through a process of decisions and alternatives that will avoid taking the wrong paths that can make him give up his purposes. It serves as a reference document to compare if you are on the right track, if the goals are being met and as a basis for future expansion.
If we need to request loans, a deep, clear and concise business plan will convince money lenders that we know what we want and we know the business we intend to set up.-
What we want to do, how we are going to do it and how we will sell it.-
What I want to do - Product identification
It is time to take a pencil and paper and begin to write down everything we want to do, using the knowledge and tools we have. This process stimulates intelligence, and predisposes us to think about specific things about the business.
We begin to define the image of the product and we are slowly realizing that there are things that we must learn, tasks to carry out that we have never done before, and the idea that we thought clear begins to change, to enrich ourselves, new ideas arise and we take a different vision of our project.-
Analysis process
What am I going to produce.
What knowledge and skills do I need to manufacture or produce my product?
Do I know the negative aspects that can affect my product?
Do I know who to turn to if I am affected?
Do I know the procedures necessary to produce?
Do I know the products of my future competitors?
Do I sufficiently know the needs of future clients?
Are there alternative markets?
What are the products in greatest demand?
How much does the competition sell your products for?
Will I be able to easily sell what I produce?
What sector will my product be aimed at?
Will I be able to compete with price and quality?
Do I know the marketing processes?
How much quantity do I need to produce?
How much quantity can I produce? It's enough?
Where am I going to settle? Do I have enough space?
What supplies do I need? Can they be found in the area?
How many providers do I know?
Can I compare prices between different providers?
Does the quantity that I am going to buy allow me to deal directly with the manufacturer instead of an intermediary?
Do I know who buys the same supplies?
Will they accept that we buy together to lower costs?
How much staff do I need?
Can I manufacture with the quality that the client demands?
How far am I from the sales centers? Can I access it easily?
PRODUCTION PROCESS
Having defined our product with certainty, we are in a position to decide how to produce it.
This decision is relevant to the business strategy, the chosen production methods will affect the quality of the final product, cost management, cash flow and continuity in supply and sale.
Analysis process
What are the steps to follow to achieve my product
RAW MATERIAL:
You must think, imagine and write about the entire process we carry out, from the purchase of the raw material to obtaining the finished product. As the general analysis of the work carried out or carried out during the production process progresses, new ideas will appear that will serve to improve or change part of the chosen method, or reaffirm the ideas we already had.
Sequence or order to follow
ACTIVITY: It is detailed from the purchase of materials and supplies, through preparing, ordering, storing, feeding, etc., to how to prepare the finished product for sale.-
Defining exactly the quantity, the order of the steps and the time that is invested in each one of them, will allow us to advance quickly and safely in the production process. Knowing exactly how long each operation takes will allow us to accurately calculate how much it costs to produce a sales unit.
The exercise of thinking clarifies our thinking, new ideas arise to combine work, eliminate unnecessary ones, and even work faster.
What do I need to produce
FACILITIES AND NEEDS: Tables, cages, tools, utensils, etc.
It is necessary to make a list of the equipment, with all the tools and implements that will be used in the production process, to know for sure what we have and what we should buy. It allows us to know precisely how much we will need to invest.
Complete description
All the elements that will be used in the production process must be detailed in an orderly fashion. Make an inventory of everything you have and make a list with what is missing.-
Organization
Describe the functions that each participant will perform in the company (partners and / or employees), and if there are several areas or sectors, describe how they are related and in which part of the production process each one intervenes.-
Define the key positions of the company, according to the experience and knowledge of the people who will occupy those positions.
The formulation of the project in writing is a necessary practice that yields optimal results, and is then established as a consultation document in the verification of progress, allowing us to make changes or additions to our plan.
Mr. Enrique Orfila has a unique experience in Foreign Trade, I consider it appropriate to insert below the concepts for the discharges in
www.zoetecocampo.com
”Associativism:
Another aspect to consider, even if it is not formalized in an armed cooperative as such. The export of snails arises from the community effort of:
1.- those who collect or raise snails providing the initial kick of the process, 2.- those responsible for processing the product as requested by the client, 3.- the packaging producers who must provide the different forms of packaging and packaging in a timely manner, complying with international labeling standards.
4.- Those who transport the products to the ports / airports of departure in authorized vehicles, ensuring the maintenance of the cold chain for the product, and compliance with the delivery schedules at the terminals, since a simple delay can generate fines and significant expenses.
5.- of the Cargo Agent who will ensure the availability of the warehouse at a time of year when traditional exports to Europe can leave other products on land
6.- The Customs Broker who must complete all the documentation corresponding to the export in a timely manner so that it can leave the country without difficulties.
7.- Of the different Official Bodies (Senasa, Secretary of the Environment of the Nation and Provincial Fauna Directorate) and of the intervening Banks that must complete their procedures in a timely manner so that the procedures can be finalized before Customs
8.- Of the coordination, activation and monitoring carried out by the marketing area, Each stage must be aware of its role in the whole because “a chain is only as strong as the weakest of its links.
As importers usually order a large quantity and in periodic deliveries that exceed the average capacity of the breeders, several producers will have to associate to be able to satisfy a single importer.
If the process and export are outsourced in these operations, the importer will have no problems, but if the breeders are also processors and exporters, it will be necessary to find the means so that the importer does not receive the merchandise invoiced independently, nor processed in different manufacturing establishments (as indicated in the respective labels) or dispatched by different freight agents, and the commercial deal must always be done with the same person and payments must be channeled through the same account and bank, regardless of the producer that supplies it.
Probably the solution to this problem will result in the creation of a group marketing entity that will be nothing other than outsourcing the service, and the person in charge of providing that service will be the one who can provide it more efficiently and more economically, so it can even reach the smooth and simple outsourcing of it.
There is much to work on, in relation to exportable food (which is what we are talking about) considering factors such as the "traceability" of the products, the absence of traces of genetically modified components in the snail feed, the quality certification of the products, it also remains to analyze the effect of improvement in the internal price the higher the supply against the usual concepts of supply and demand, the convenience of large production volumes to ensure profitability, the adaptation of the breeding systems to our country, the invariability of international market prices in the face of the supply or not of the Argentine product, etc. "
conclusion
Undoubtedly snail farming is a valid profitable productive alternative.
Depending on how we face the actions, it will be transformed into a successful activity or not.
As we leave individualism behind, the chances of success will grow. We must accept, convinced, that we are neither prepared nor ready to face this activity alone.
The existing associations at the national level should promote and provide the tools that allow the inland heliciculturists to form their own entities, advising them without conditions.
From the State, promotion and development policies aimed only at non-traditional production should definitely be addressed, with national actors and with national investments, creating genuine lines of credit whose only access and guarantee requirement is the project itself to be developed, perhaps from That way we get some similarity with the countries of the first world.
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