Households’ Consumption Pattern of Snail ( Archachatina   species) in Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria

The present study investigates household consumption pattern of snail meat in Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State. A multistage random sampling technique was used to administer the questionnaires to a total of 120 respondents. Data collected were analyzed using both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The socioeconomic factors analyzed showed that age group between 31 and 40 (45.0%) consumed snail more while age group between 51 and 60 (11.70%) consumed less snails. The majority of respondents were Married (60.8%) and possess secondary education (54.2%). Most of the respondents (95.8%) consume snail meat but most of them consume snail meat on a seasonal basis unlike beef and fish. Furthermore, fried form of snail meat is mostly (65%) preferred when compared to cooked form (24.2%). The regression analysis shows that the consumption of snail meat depended on the price, household size, educational level, household income, nutritive value, occupation and its availability. Problems associated with snail meat consumption in the study area include Price, income level, unavailability and cultural belief. Based on the findings, this study recommends that extension workers should engage the public on the need to get involved in the rearing of snails to make it readily available all year round and thus make it more affordable for all sundry.

Keywords
Snail meat; Consumption; Nutritive Values and Oluyole Local Government Area.