The edible land snail communally called Nyamangoro has dominated the demand of bush meat, beef and fresh water protein sources in the rural communities of Cameroon. Bush meat including endangered species have been heavily poached; the fresh water protein sources ranged from crabs, over prawns to fish. As the temperatures keeps on rising due to climate change effects, reducing their abundance as their sources of nutrients also go away.

However, edible land snails do very well in all types of forest. Their survival and high repeoductive rate has lead to their active cultivation, which requires growing of various types of crops within a piece of cultivated land. Most of the time, the snails are found under the trees for example in cocoa plantations, where a moist, humid, and organic environment is favouring their reproduction and growth. This environment also compacts the soils making them ready  for crop production especially cereals like beans and maize or vegetables. The growth of edible snails can hence both alleviate rural poverty and hunger,and contribute to sustainable land management practices and beomces a incresinglly important topic for extension proessionals.

by Bosambe Aaron Modika, Cameroon