Do you want to start a new business and profit from innovative upcoming trends? If YES, here are 50 best small business ideas for the future year 2018 to 2020.
The hardest phenomenon to predict is the future, especially if you’re still struggling to figure out what’s happening in today’s economy. But predicting the future is exactly what you need to do if you’re enrolling in college, starting a fresh career, or investing in new skills.
Why Start a Business With the Future in Mind?
The attribute of most successful entrepreneurs are those who don’t follow the herd but anticipate the needs of the market earlier than the competition. Of course, such anticipation is not without risk, but the payout can be considerable.
After all, seminal inventions, such as the automobile, the Internet, and the smartphone, were all regarded with high degrees of skepticism when first introduced. Equally important, the impact is not only cultural but economic as well.
The automobile gave rise to a global network of small businesses, such as parts makers, dealerships, and service centers. The Internet has spawned a host of online companies, many of which, such as Amazon.com and eBay.com, have grown from small operations to very large ones indeed. So what are the small businesses of the future, and where will we find them?
The fields of energy and clean tech seem to be among the ripest areas for growth, as do nanotechnology, entertainment, and the growing demands of adapting the planet to accommodate its burgeoning population–even if they might strike some of us now as being a bit far-fetched.
The pace of change in the business world is faster than ever these days, thanks largely to globalization and digital technology. One way to zero in on fields that will be hot in the future is to stay away from those that are not. Below are some of the business ideas that will be hot in the foreseeable future;
50 Best Trending Future Small Business ideas for 2018 to 2020
Data Crunching
The era of big data is just getting started, with many firms eager to tap vast new databases to gather more info on their customers, their competitors, and even themselves. The challenge isn’t just crunching numbers; it’s making sense of them, and gaining useful insights that can be translated into a business edge.
Marketing and market research are two growing fields where the use of data is exploding. With the right gadgets and know-how, you can position yourself for this time bomb business.
2. 3D Printing Shop
The basic idea underlying this business is fabricating items in low cost printers. At this stage in 2016, there is plenty of hype but 3D printers are still extremely expensive. When you need a need a new lens cap? Print it! That’s the idea behind this.
That’s the way of the future. Instead of the long processes and procedure of fabricating in a factory and shipping the item wherever it’s needed, 3D printers are expected to produce everything from architect models to sinks to spare camera parts. “It’s already happening at service bureaus. It hasn’t happened at a physical shop like Kinko’s, but it’s very possible and soon
Computer Engineering
A lot of software development is done overseas these days, but the need for high-level computer experts able to tie systems together is still strong. In finance and investing, for instance, high-speed computing is increasingly a prime competitive advantage. And most big companies will need networks that are faster, more seamless, and more secure.
Asteroid Mining
Right now, this idea is slightly beyond sci-fi. The idea underlying this future business is exploiting and exploring space. Since resources are running out here on Earth, the value of rare metals and minerals may someday be worth the cost of lunar or asteroid mining, especially when you consider that deep sea drilling requires investments of billions of dollars.
If you realize that everything we hold of value on earth is in near-infinite quantities in space, you realize there will be vast wealth created on the space frontier. Many entrepreneurs are not concerned with the difficulties inherent in mining an asteroid; as they are already convinced it’s possible and lucrative.
Scientific Research
New technology will continue to generate breakthroughs in medicine, manufacturing, transportation, and many other fields, which means there will be strong demand for workers schooled in biology, chemistry, math, and engineering. Some areas that show particular promise: biotechnology and biomedicine, nanotechnology, robotics, and 3D printing, which allows the manufacture of physical products from a digital data file.
Body Part Making
This has to deal with the use of degrading polymers and stem cells to engineer tissues. This is not about growing a foot or an arm in a lab. It’s about growing skin or tendon or muscle–in other words, single types of tissue. But the possibilities are immense.
For instance, a Connecticut company already has the tech and they are working to heal ACL tears without taking tendon from another part of the body to surgically repair it. The company uses a degrading polymer placed where a tear occurred and lets stem cells in the blood do the healing. Using a device that looks like a high-tech shoelace, it’s braided. It looks like about a 5-inch shoelace from your sneaker made from very small fibers, like smaller than a human hair.
Marriage Counseling and Therapy
There’s now widespread recognition that mental health is as important as physical health, which is likely to increase demand for professionals in this field. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the need for marriage and family therapists, as one example, to grow 41 percent by 2020.
Bottled Air Company
The idea is using this ubiquitous natural resource as product but it is still at the stage of space balls. If water can be bottled and sold, why not air? In 2009, bottled water was a $10.6 billion business that involved packaging 8.1 billion gallons in the U.S. But air is somewhat easier to find than a cold sip of water.
Still, oxygen bars went through a mildly popular phase in the ’90s, and seven or eight companies still market oxygen canisters to the action sports set. “It increases the oxygen content in your blood and gives you a boost when you’re tired or fatigued. Thus far there are no plans for pure mountain air in bottles, unless you’re talking pure irony.
Car Charging Station
It’s common knowledge that electric vehicles is already in the U.S. Auto market and hundreds of charging stations have been built, thousands will have to be built to cater for the increasing consumers. The all-electric Nissan Leaf completely sold out before the car even arrived in U.S. showrooms.
With that kind of demand, the charging stations to get those cars running are also going to be in high demand. The idea is to ensure that people don’t hesitate to buy electric because they’re worried about fueling. The key is that they fuel a little differently.” In general, the cars take hours to charge, so stations are needed where cars are parked.
Veterinarians
Two out of every two people love pets and they are more popular than ever, and some of them get medical care that’s practically fit for a human. The BLS expects the need for vets to rise 36 percent by 2020.Every household owns a pet. But due to the hurry burry life style most of them have find no time to take care of their lovable pets which makes the pet care to be consider as the best business to start in 2014.
According to “American Pet Products Association” this pet care industry grows by 5%each year. Pet care industry includes the services like pet sitting, pet mobile grooming and assisting the people who want to grow farm animals like bees and chickens in their home located in city etc.
DNA Design Firms
If you don’t know, reading DNA gives clues to disease. At this junction in the history of human existence, DNA reveals some diseases, much more to come if we invest in this area. But testing DNA for patterns that correlate with diseases won’t disappear so easily. BioNanomatrix, a Philadelphia company that provides technology solutions for reading DNA, is working on a grant to get DNA sequencing under $100 by 2020.
The long-term possibilities of cheap DNA testing involve a better understanding of aging and endless possibilities for new ways to cure and treat disease. The great dream is that you take a person’s DNA when they are a baby and you profile it in a very thorough way, which can make easy the prediction of the health status of the baby.
Greenhouse Gas Auditors
The Idea is about private companies auditing polluters, at this stage, it is still dependent on policy making. Doing a greenhouse gas audit is endlessly complicated, because so much of our daily lives, from heating to transportation to food, involve contributing to climate change. As policy shifts to stop impending environmental degradation, the jobs will follow.
There are going to be a more roles related to greenhouse gas management, auditors are one role that a lot of people focused on initially. It has been the most clearly defined role in these early days of carbon markets. But there will be a whole population of carbon specialists. In the end, the objective is to make the information that has been collected useful. And that depends in large part on policy.
Holographic Theater
Right now, the idea is beyond 3D. The hologram of today is a clever version of an old illusion called Pepper’s Ghost. In the mid-19th century, the trick was done with thick glass between the audience and image that could make a figure appear to be floating in the air.
Current illusionists use highly reflective polymer, invisible to the audience, to create life-size images. A top application for the technology is using holograms for real-time telepresence for meetings. The capacity already exists for numerous people in different cities to appear on stage on another continent, in real time. Of course, hologram theaters could replace 3D, as well.
Jet-Pack Dealership
The idea is hinged on personal flight. It is actually commercially available right now but has not been embraced by consumers. An aircraft company is already taking orders for the first commercially available jetpack. It’s recreational, so you’d need to go fly in a field somewhere, rather than to work.
It’s also expensive, stating a price of $100,000. If that price comes down, however, it’s not hard to imagine that folks might want to fly to work instead of drive. That is, until air traffic looks like the freeways of today.
Lunar Tour Guide
This is a form of pay to play lunar travel and will be available in the next few years. Accessing space used to only be the province of governments or large aerospace giants. That is no longer the case, with numerous companies sending paying customers into the heavens. That may go a step further, with lunar missions, in the next five or 10 years.
Ever since Eugene Cernan stepped off the moon on Dec. 14, 1972, the moon has been devoid of human contact. The next person to return may well pay for the right to do so. Space Adventures has commenced the business, by planning a lunar mission for tourists in the next three to four years.
Marijuana Cigarette Maker
This is already in the black market but this idea is built on the legalization of drugs. California’s legalization measure didn’t pass on Nov. 2, but California and a number of other states are already well into a gray area of legalization. Further, legalization advocates say the vote itself was as step forward.
It elevated and legitimized the discourse about marijuana legalization like nothing ever had before. It shifted the debate from whether marijuana should be legalized to how. For the small pot farmers and joint rollers, business is good, and few are looking forward to the Phillip Morris of weed. That doesn’t stop the push for legalization.
Meat Grower
Can you imagine growing meat in the lab? That is what this is about. Even though this is already been done but the taste is not there yet. Using techniques that come out of stem cell technology, numerous groups of scientists have grown meat in the lab. Stem cells are placed on scaffolding and soaked in nutrients to grow.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are behind the push for lab meat. In 2008, the group offered a $1 million prize to the first group that can grow commercially viable amounts of chicken meat in a lab. New Harvest is a nonprofit founded by Jason Matheny in 2004 to do just that.
Nanomedic
This is the use of nanotechnology for the reparation of cells. A report commissioned by the British Government earlier this year, “The Shape of Jobs to Come,” flubbed in suggesting that nanotechnology would lead to subatomic medical treatments and hence, nanomedics. We’re on board with nanotechnology providing advances in medicine, but this was a problem of size.
Bruce Donald, a computer science professor at Duke University, has been creating microrobots that could possibly insert electrons into neurons in the brain. The world’s smallest untethered, controllable robots, Donald’s nanobots are about 60 microns wide (200 could fit on an M&M). It’s not hard to imagine medical applications for the robots.
Nanosatellite
This idea is about making things smaller than it was half a century ago. As satellites get smaller, the costs of launching them get lower. That’s the major limiting factor. Nano satellites and the even-smaller picosatellites can be packed with all sorts of useful equipment that have business applications.
The types of nanosatellites and microsatellites that can be built by small companies and universities will become more robust. We’re heading in a direction where small teams and small companies will be able to do far more in smaller packages.
Privacy Protection Firm
The use of smartphones connected to different grid of information has exposed our information to those who want to steal it. The need for data protection and reputation management growing rapidly. From credit-card numbers to photos from the latest kegger, more private information is online than ever before.
Businesses need to protect that information, and individuals need to be careful with it. Right now, states are only now beginning to pass laws that require companies to have written security plans to prevent data breach. Beyond data, a cottage industry is developing in the field of reputation management.
Robotics Mechanics
Right now, robots are scrubbing floors but they cannot wash dishes. Thousands of robots have been blown up or damaged by improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan. So robot mechanics already exist. But we’re talking about something as ubiquitous as a computer repair shop.
The world robot population is growing rapidly, with an estimated 13 million robots by the end of next year, according to IFR World Robotics. Many are industrial robots, but personal robotics is growing rapidly, with research robots doing dishes and ironing. Soldiers risk their lives trying to save bots on the battlefields. It will accelerate massively.
Space Hotel
This is a form of space tourism and it is targeted toward the upper echelon of our world. The punchline is that we are now seeing the birth of the Googles and Apples of the space business. There are a number of companies working on space hotels.
At the forefront is Bigelow Aerospace, which launched two prototypes of space hotels and currently plans a commercial space complex by 2014. Called Sundancer, the hotel is expected to have space for up to six people on a short-term basis. A Russian company called Orbital Technologies is also racing to have the first commercial space station.
Stem Cell Pharmacy
Even though it is promising, the political atmosphere concerning the issue is really charged. This concept is concerned with healing with cells moves medicine away from drugs. Stem cells are already used to model diseases and test new drugs, but as the technology advances, stems cells may actually push drugs aside.
Even now, stem cells are showing promise for degenerative diseases and regrowing cells after surgeries. Pharmacies full of drugs, however, could well be replaced with pharmacies of cells that are more natural and work better.
Vertical Farming
Single-story, high-tech greenhouses save significant amounts of water and increase productivity. So why not stack them up and makes cities self-sufficient? The idea for vertical farms came from an infectious disease ecologist, Dickson Despommier, who turned his knowledge of parasites into a way of looking at cities.
“Instead of the city behaving like a parasite, it should be a symbiant. The future city has to take a big lesson from nature and start behaving like an ecosystem.” By that, he means zero-waste cities.
Water Trading
Water is becoming scarce. It has been said that water is the oil of the 21st century. But humans don’t need to drink a liter or two of oil every day. Early signs of coming conflicts over water are already apparent around the world and in the U.S., where the Southwest is ever-thirsty.
Water issues are a coming tidal wave, especially considering the amount of water needed for agriculture. People will actually make a choice: I could drink this water, or I could let my plants drink this water. Soon this element is going to be the subject of conflicts and wars. If you don’t know, Bottled water already a billion-dollar business.
Home Care for the Elderly
Due to the ever-aging population in the United States and other developing countries, there is an increasing demand for independent living by the elderly. And any businesses that can cater to this need by offering personal home care products and services to the elderly; with respect to physical therapy, grocery shopping, cooking, etc will be of great relevance for years to come.
Services for Retirees
Everyone wants to live a good life even after retirement. And it is expected that by the year 2020, 80% of workers born in North America will be older than 50; a statistic revealed by Entrepreneur magazine. This trend will open huge opportunities for businesses targeting adults that are over 50, who are looking to enjoy a blissful retirement. Such businesses include retirement real estate, retirement recreational services, nutritional counseling to help seniors look better, etc.
Mobile Marketing Consulting
Due to the ever-increasing number of people who surf the web using mobile devices like Smartphones and tablets, businesses are now realizing the need to adopt mobile marketing as a way of targeting prospects that use mobile devices.
This has led to an increase in the demand for mobile marketing consultants. Since indicators are suggesting that mobile devices will continue to dominate for a long time (just as the need for mobile marketing), there’s a huge opportunity for mobile marketing consultants.
Social Media Consulting
With the dramatic increase in the popularity of social networks like Facebook and Twitter, businesses are deeming it more necessary than ever to start using these platforms for reaching out to prospects. This has led to a huge demand for marketing consultants who advise businesses on how to promote and market their products and services on social networks; and this demand will keep increasing for as long as social media continues to remain relevant.
Outsourcing Agency
Due to the current state of the economy, businesses are looking for ways to cut down cost and streamline their operations. One way businesses are trying to achieve this is by outsourcing to freelance contractors what used to be in-house functions; such as human resources, accounting, and IT related tasks. If you can setup an outsourcing agency, you are in for huge profit potential.
Translating Services
Globalization in all the areas has actually created a tremendous demand for the translators. Without requiring any big investment in the upfront, you can simply start your business as a freelance translator. All you need is a sound knowledge in the languages you are going to deal with. Remember though, just being aware of the languages will not be sufficient to carry out an effective communication.
Employee Monitoring Services
Due to the technological development, now most of the jobs can be done without leaving your doorsteps. According to the recent study there will be more than 1.3 billion employees work in mobile fashion by 2015. The question here is how the employers will keep track of their employees work? This is where the role of employee monitoring services come into play.
Now this industry makes use of “vehicle tracking time clock, mobile time clock apps” to monitor their employees. But still when it comes to billing and payroll, employers require a dedicated staff member to manage all these. So consider starting a company in this sector that provides effective employee monitoring services and additional human resource functions in an outsourcing fashion.
Web Designing
Nowadays every small to large businesses have started to establish their online presence through websites. It has created a huge demand for web designers. Starting a business in the web design is more economic. All you need are just a PC with internet connection and a bit of creativeness.
So, if you are in the field of technology or completed your study in computer science, when it comes to choose among the best businesses to start right now, starting the web design and development company should be your ultimate choice.
SEO Firm
This is related to Web designing, as the demand for the good SEO services seems quite high. Every webmaster who holds a website want to be found by the search engines and people to increase their profit margin. You can even provide SEO services from your home. To survive the competition, make sure, your learning curve is not going to end at any time soon. Equip yourself with every new search engine updates and change your SEO tactics regularly.
Smartphone Repair Services
The high competition in the smart phone market, leads to the dramatic price reduction and in turn it has increased the usage too. Now everyone afford to get at least one smart phone in their hand. Luckily, there are no much smart phone repairing services are out there. As it opens a wide opportunity, without any doubt it would serve as a best small business to start now.
Accounting Firm
To start a small accounting firm, you won’t need a strong economic and financial background. Your investments are just a professional degree and of course a practical accounting knowledge. Regardless of the nature of the business, everyone requires an accountant.
So if you are an accounting whiz, consider starting the accounting firm. Provide your best, regardless of the size (small scale, medium scale or large scale) of your clients. Because satisfied clients are the best advertisements to your business.
Kids Friendly Apps
Kids are your future customers, so gaining their loyalty now isn’t a bad idea. JWT Intelligence also cited the connectivity of kids as a big trend for the future starting from now. According to Common Sense Media, three-quarters of kids have access to a mobile device.
This spells a big business opportunity for anyone who can create products or design apps just for kids. And, if they also happen to be educational or promote good health, you’ll win their parents over, too. You can start small by designing a few kid-friendly apps and see where your business goes from there.
Solar Powered Office
With tax breaks, advances in core solar technologies and a new generation of gadgets, fairly soon you will be able to power your entire SMB with the sun. State-funded renewable energy programs mix tax breaks and direct grants to drive solar deployments. Outfits like PowerFilm Inc. are developing custom-made flexible solar panels that can power literally anything.
Management
The boss earns a lot for good reason: His job isn’t as easy as it might seem. Effective management in the future will require basic business knowledge plus the ability to oversee operations in many locations and countries, and some technical know-how.
Anybody who can improve a unit’s performance while lowering costs should rise quickly. The BLS and IBISWorld also expect growing demand for some support fields such as human relations, benefits administration, and event planning.
Testing Services
Apps, mobile-friendly websites and e-commerce have become must-haves for every business. Often, however, they don’t work properly. One reason is that businesses don’t always test their applications or software carefully enough; meaning testing services are now in hot demand.
For example, one company, SOASTA, offers cloud testing services for clients. And there’s room in this market for growth — a service that specializes in niche testing, for instance, would have an edge over broader testing services.
Freelance Marketplace
Companies are increasingly turning to freelance and contract workers to fill the skill gaps in their staff. It’s not hard to imagine that you could build a whole company around providing freelance services of one sort or another.
According to Freelancer.com, which lists more than a million freelance projects on its site, the most in-demand freelance services are data entry, academic writing, Excel projects, data processing, Web search and Facebook-based jobs. Some freelance gigs pay by the project and others pay hourly and the rates can vary greatly. But as you gain more experience, your earning potential will soar.
Food Trucking
A December 2012 study by Intuit and Emergent Research predicted that revenue from the food truck industry will reach $2.7 billion by 2017. A truck is a much less expensive investment than a brick-and-mortar restaurant, and according to Mobi Munch founder Josh Tang, the failure rate for food trucks is just 10 to 20 percent (as opposed to 60 to 90 percent for restaurants). With the right equipment and some great recipes, you can have your mobile eatery up and running in no time.
Box Subscription Services
Box subscription services are popping up everywhere in the food, beauty and even pet product sectors, ready to deliver goods right to your door each month. One of the perks that keep customers coming back for more is the idea that these subscription boxes are carefully curated just for them based on their likes and interests, and each month, the boxes’ contents are a surprise.
Find a unique product category that’s still untapped by the box subscription industry, or find a way to put a new spin on an existing service, and you could have a lucrative business on your hands. Keep it as inexpensive as possible, offering cheaper products will help you stand out from the competition.
Instagram Consulting
In its annual trends report, The Future 100 — which highlights the big and small trends to watch this coming year — JWT Intelligence reported that more and more companies are using Instagram as a marketing tool. According to the report, the social media app reached 400 million users in 2015, and the number of companies with more than 100 employees using Instagram for marketing is expected to reach 48.8 percent in 2016. Despite Instagram’s growing popularity, not all brands know what they’re doing on the app.
Bio-Fuel Production
There are different forms of bio-fuels and different sources for it too that won’t hurt the pocket. The fuel is so cheap and to think that it can actually be also made from waste and to crown it all, bio-fuels doesn’t emit smoke like the conventional energy sources like kerosene and petrol we have around here. You can start to produce your own bio-fuel too and create your own invention that would run on bio-fuel. It could be a generator, a tricycle or even a motor vehicle.
Power Storage Business
Uninterrupted power supply systems also known as UPS or inverters are gadgets used to store energy, so that when there is absence of power, the UPS can be used as a back-up source of power. UPS are used in hospitals, schools, information technology companies, individual homes and almost every company out there. You would definitely make good money from selling this hot item.
Car Sharing Business
Car sharing or car sharing (US) or car clubs (UK) is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. They are attractive to customers who make only occasional use of a vehicle, as well as others who would like occasional access to a vehicle of a different type than they use day-to-day.
The organization renting the cars may be a commercial business or the users may be organized as a company, public agency, cooperative, or ad hoc grouping.
Electric Car Production
One major expense that people undergo daily is motor vehicle fueling. Imagine a world where you didn’t have to fuel your vehicle. You can develop your own electric vehicle or employ people to develop one and sell the idea to you for reproduction.
I am certain that a lot of people would receive this innovation with open arms. However, you need to be deep-pocketed to do this kind of business. And in case you are asking if it’s possible for cars to run on electric, yes it is. A little bit of research would clear you of any doubt.
Wind Energy Installation
A lot of people are also embracing wind energy. It’s not uncommon to see an entire community that runs on wind energy. You could set up a wind farm in your area and have people pay you to supply their houses with wind energy. Like solar energy, wind energy is cost-effective.
Solar Water System
Water is very essential and everyone knows that water pumping machines sap a lot of energy. You could start a business that helps people install water pumping machines that run on solar power and makes it cheaper and easier to pump water.
The future is already here and if you intend to be part of the relevant class of the society in the days to come, then you should invest in any of this business above. You should also know that most of this business is in the field of science and technology which need loads of research years before the products can be commercially viable, so the time to start is now, not later.
Monday, March 19, 2018
HOW TO BECOME RICH THROUGH SNAIL FARMING BUSINESS IN NIGERIA AND THE WORLD
Snail farming in Nigeria is one of the most lucrative, cost effective, easy to run business practices that requires very little capital to run compared to other forms of agricultural practices. Snail farming in Nigeria is one of the most neglected farming practices in Nigeria yet the opportunities abound. Snails are more popular in African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. The opportunities are massive likewise the potentials. Unlike other forms of agricultural practices that require you building mighty structures and moving far away into the forest, snail farming doesn’t require massive land spaces and confinement. Infact you can start a commercial snail farm at the back of your backyard. It requires little spaces, It’s environmental friendly, requires little man power and the feeding are cheap or almost free.
What is a Snail?
What is Snail: Snails are animals with shells that have the ability to retract into their shell and also craw. The local name for snail in Nigeria is Igbin or Eju. There are so many species/breeds of snails in Nigeria and the world, but the types we are looking at here are the ones that are suitable for commercial viable for Snail Farming in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
Snail is an animal a mollusc with a single spiral shell into which the whole body can be withdrawn. They are usually found in green vegetations.
What is snail farming?
Snail farming is the process of breeding or rearing snails. Snail farming is also known as Heliciculture or heliculture.
FACTS ABOUT SNAIL AND SNAIL FARMING
1 Snails produces a thick slime which protects and gives them the ability to crawl on sharp object like the edge of a razor and not get hurt.
2 Snails are Hermaphrodite that is they posses both the male and female reproductive system
3 Garden snails have up to 14,175 teeth! They are all located on their tongue called the radula
4 The largest snail specie is the Achatina Achatina (AA) popular in Nigeria
5 Snails have the ability to hibernate during extreme cold or dry season. They form a protective covering which can sustain them for months
6 Snails are nocturnal animals that is they are more active at night.
7 Snails are very good sources of protein.
8 Because of the suction created by their slime, a snail can crawl upside down
9 Snails are deaf they don’t have a sense of hearing that is they cannot hear, they only see, feel and smell
10 Snails can live up to 20 years
ADVANTAGES OF SNAIL FARMING IN NIGERIA
1. Snail shells serves as calcium used for animal feeds
2. Snail farming require little land or space.
3. Snail feeds are cheap and readily available
4. Snail farming in Nigeria is not capital intensive
5. Snail farming is easy to run
6. Snail doesn’t require too much attention like other agricultural practices making it easy to run part time
7. Snail farming requires little or no man power or labour
8. Snail farming doesn’t constitute nuisance to the environment which is usually the case for other livestock farming in terms of noise and animal waste
9. Quick growth, Snails are highly productive, can produce over 300 eggs at once
10. Snail meat is rich in protein, to its low level of cholesterol and fat.
11. Snail farming can easily be combined or incorporated with other farming practices
12. Snails are basically harmless creatures
13. Snail farming is a good source of income for the family.
14. Snails have Low mortality rate
Also Read How to Start a Pig Farm In Nigeria
BENEFITS OF SNAIL FARMING IN NIGERIA
1. It’s easy to run
2. It is highly lucrative
3. It is environmental friendly
4. Snails are highly productive
5. Low in fat and cholesterol
6. Highly medicinal and used for health related products
7. Has traditional healing benefits
8. A good export opportunity
9. It contains iron, vitamin A, calcium, magnesium and has very low fat
EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS USED FOR SNAIL FARMING IN NIGERIA
1. Tank for water
2. Watering cans
3. Hand trowel
4. Rake
5. Shovel
6. Weighing scale (digital preferably)
7. Buckets
8. Feeders
9. Pipe or hose
SNAIL BREEDS/SPECIES IN SNAIL FARMING IN NIGERIA
Popular Types of Snail Used for Snail farming
When it comes to snail farming in Nigeria, there are 3 popular types of snail species/breeds common for snail breeding in Nigeria. There are often 3 major types of snails used for snail breeding in Nigeria and Africa in general this is due to their commercial viability.
1. Archachatina Marginata (AM)
2. Achatina Achatina (AA)
3. Achatina Fulica (AF)
Archachatina Marginata (AM)
The Archachatina Marginata AM is peculiar to West Africa and it’s popularly known as the giant African snail. It is the largest of all the snail specie . They can grow up to 20cm long in size and can produce up to 40 eggs in a single clutch and they can do produce 3 to 4 clutches in a year and can live up to 10 years. It usually takes between 21 to 40 days for the Archachatina Marginata (AM) eggs to hatch, The AM is harder and bigger compared to other species of snails. Archachatina Marginata (AM) tales about 8 to 9 months before it starts the laying of eggs. It is usually prized because of its large size.
Achatina Achatina (AA)
Achatina Achatina (AA) is d 2nd largest in the world and the second most popular breed in Nigeria and other countries and can lay up to 200 to 500 eggs in a single clutch and can lay up to 3 to 5 clutches in a year, it also takes 21 to 28 days for the Achatina Achatina (AA) eggs to hatch. It takes between 4 to 6 months before the Achatina Achatina (AA) starts laying of eggs.
Achatina Fulica (AF)
Achatina Fulica (AF): The AF is the 3rd largest and can lay up to 200 to 500 eggs in a clutch and can produce up to 3 to 5 clutches a year. It is the smallest of the breeding type of snail. It is also the third specie used in snail breeding in Nigeria.
PROCESSES INVOLVED IN SNAIL FARMING IN NIGERIA – HELICULTURE
1. Education: this is where many farmers fail because they hardly know much about the business they are venturing into. So first of all, get all the knowledge about the business, understand the business idea, breed type, likes problem you might face, disease, feeds, plants and vegetable, do’s and don’ts, marketing, viablity and the different challenges that may arise in the process of running the business. Once you gathered enough knowledge about snail farming in Nigeria. You can also visit other snail farms to get an idea of operating a snail farm. Then you can then move on to the next stage.
2. Physical Environment of the Farm: One of the most important factors in snail farming is the physical environment of your snail farm. Your snail farm must be properly chosen and selected and situated in an environment that is free from predators, diseases and bacteria that may be harmful to your snail farm. Make sure there are plants or tress to shield the snails from direct sunlight and winds.
3. The Soil Type and texture: The soil plays a major role in the life cycle of the snail, because the snail derives the calcium and other nutrients needed for the formation of its shell from the soil and also the soil plays a major role in the hatching of the snail eggs. Because snails bury their eggs inside the soil for hatching. So therefore the best soil used for snail breeding is the type that has low water retention capacity that is, it doesn’t retain too much water. A perfect soil type for snail breeding is sandy-loamy soil.
4. The pen for snail: When building a pen for snail farming, you need to ask yourself the type of snail farming you intend to practice, are you looking at an intensive or extensive farm system. Are you looking at a very big farm, a commercial farm, free range or a caged system?
5. Sourcing for snails: Snails can easily be sourced either from the forest or from reputable snail farms around you. Make sure they are very active and they haven’t been exposed to too much sunlight to avoid stress which might affect their survival and breeding capability. The best time to source for snail in the forest during the raining season, snails are known to be more active in the night and morning when it rains.
6. Building the Snail House (Snailery) – : Snail houses can vary depending on the type of snail breeding practices you intend to practice and the amount of available space at your disposal. It could vary from a little cupboard space at the back of your house to a room side pen to a full plot of land or more depending on your capacity.
When constructing a pen , you should avoid over population and give enough room for the snails to move around. Also make sure the spaces are well guarded to prevent them from attacks from rodents, ants and snakes and also to prevent the snails from escaping.
Make sure the pens are surrounded with plants that can serve as a cover crop because snails love cool and dark places.
7. Snail Foods and Feeding – Snails mostly feed on vegetables, plants and fruits. In modern farming, there are formulated feeds rich in calcium that has been specially prepared for snails which makes them grow faster. Snails feeds on a variety of crops like pawpaw leaves, cabbage and lettuce, okra leave, water leave, water melon, pawpaw, cucumber, banana and the list goes on.
8. Breeding the snail for market: Snails takes averagely between 6 to 12 months to get to marketable size.
9. Marketing of your snail in Nigeria: Currently the demand for snail outweighs the supply. So the market is wide and readily available as the snail farmers are not currently meeting demands. Your target markets are the market women in the markets, snail farmers, pepper soup joints, restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and snail lovers who cook them for special delicacies.
SIMPLE ANALYSIS FOR SNAIL FARMING IN NIGERIA
If you start a snail farm with 1,000 matured snails and they lay say 100 eggs (highly reduced) each. Remember that snails can go 3 clusters in a year.
Equals to 100 x 3 = 300 each (that is 300 snails each in a year) but for the purpose of this let’s put it at 150 snails per year.
Cost of 1,000 snails for breeding = 1,000 x 400 = 400,000 (four Hundred Thousand Naira)
For 150 snails for 1,000 foundation stock = 150,000 snails in a year.
If after 1 year you decide to sell 100,000 snails out of the 150,000 snails, you have a total of 100,000 x 100 Naira per snail (Highly reduced price)
N10,000,000 (that is ten million naira)
Is that amazing?
So what are you still waiting for? Start your snail farm today.
LATEST WORLD NEWS: 'Weaponizing capital': US worries over China's expanding role in Africa
'Weaponizing capital': US worries over China's expanding role in Africa
By Steve George and Brad Lendon, CNN
Updated 0754 GMT (1554 HKT) March 14, 2018
Chinese People's Liberation Army-Navy troops march in Djibouti's independence day parade on June 27, 2017, marking 40 years since the end of French rule in the Horn of Africa country.
Hong Kong (CNN)Concerns in Washington are growing amid reports that China is poised to gain control of a major commercial port on the Horn of Africa, further consolidating the country's influence in the critically strategic region.
In late February, the Djibouti government terminated a contract with Dubai-based port operator DP World to run the Doraleh Container Terminal (DCT), on the grounds it was "contrary to the fundamental interests of the nation."
The port is partly owned by China's state-owned China Merchants Port Holdings, which maintains a 23.5% stake in the port's parent company, Port de Djibouti SA. It is also located immediately adjacent to China's only overseas military base, on the west bank of the Gulf of Aden and the southern entrance to the Red Sea, close to the Suez Canal.
The government's sudden seizure of the port, among the largest in Africa, has led to speculation it could fall into Chinese hands, with US lawmakers citing reports that Djibouti was preparing to hand it over to China as a "gift."
The Djibouti government relies heavily on investment capital from China and the two countries maintain close diplomatic ties.
On Tuesday, the future of the port dominated discussions during a hearing of the US House Armed Services Committee, with one senior US general warning that the US military could face "significant" consequences should China take control of the port.
Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the US' top military commander in Africa, said Chinese control of the port could result in restrictions on its use, potentially cutting off access to a key US resupply route and naval refueling stop.
The port currently constitutes the primary access point for American, French, Italian and Japanese bases in Djibouti. The US base, Camp Lemonnier, is home to an estimated 4,000 personnel, including various special forces troops, and is used as a staging point for US military and counter-terrorism operations throughout Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean.
"If the Chinese took over that port, then the consequences could be significant," said Waldhauser. "When we talk about influence and access, this is a classic example with regards to China, of how we've got to proceed and how we've got to be careful as we move forward."
China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang did not comment directly on Djibouti during a regular press briefing Wednesday. When asked about the port, he said he was "not aware of the specific situation," adding that China hoped the US would view "China-Africa cooperation in an objective and unbiased manner.'
However, the question of China's role in Djibouti did appear in an article published Wednesday in China's state-owned Global Times, in which US concerns were dismissed as "pointless."
Quoting Song Zhongping, a military expert, the article argued that if a Chinese company were to gain the right to operate the port, "it would be based on business and economic interests between China and Djibouti, and it has no intention at all to make trouble for the US military."
Chinese funding
The government of Djibouti, led by President Ismail Omar Guelleh, has so far welcomed China's role in the country's economy, maintaining that because Djibouti is resource-poor, its development is dependent on maximizing its location, and increasing investment in port infrastructure.
To date, China has provided the East African nation with more than $1.4 billion in infrastructure funding, equivalent to 75% of Djibouti's GDP, according to a 2018 report from the Center for Global Policy Development.
In addition to investing in the DCT, Chinese state firms have also financed and built Ethiopia-Djibouti Water Pipelines and the Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway.
In the hearing Tuesday, Waldhauser admitted the United States would "never outspend the Chinese" in Djibouti, pointing out that as well as major infrastructure projects, Beijing has also built shopping malls and stadiums.
According to a report by CNA, a US-based nonprofit research and analysis organization, most of the capital that China provides to Djibouti is in the form of loans from the Export-Import Bank of China.
The bank, which is wholly state-owned and is under the direct leadership of the China's State Council, has a mandate from the Chinese government to "help Chinese companies secure contracts and acquire assets abroad," says the report.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Djibouti as part of a cross-continent trip, intended to shore up support among African leaders.
Addressing those debt concerns at a press conference alongside Tillerson, Djibouti's foreign minister, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, said the country's debt to China "is so far manageable."
"Let me first underline the fact that no country can develop itself without having a strong infrastructure," said Youssouf, "And China is, from that perspective, a very good partner."
The issue of the Doraleh Container Terminal was not raised during the press conference.
LATEST WORLD NEWS: Israeli killed by Palestinian in Jerusalem Old City stabbing
Jonah Mandel,AFP
Israeli security forces stand guard at the site of a stabbing attack by a Palestinian assailant, who was shot dead, in Jerusalem's Old City on March 18, 2018 (AFP Photo/Ahmad GHARABLI)
Jerusalem (AFP) - A Palestinian stabbed an Israeli security guard to death in Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday before being shot dead by a police officer, Israeli officials said.
The stabbing came with concerns over the potential for an upsurge in unrest in the coming weeks as the United States prepares to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
The security guard was taken to hospital in serious condition suffering a stab wound to his torso, medics said.
The hospital later announced he had died from his wounds. Israeli media reported that he was in his 30s, with some reports saying he was off-duty at the time.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld confirmed the assailant had been shot dead.
Israel's Shin Bet domestic security service identified the assailant as Abdul Rahmani Faddal, 28, and a father of two from Aqraba near Nablus in the north of the occupied West Bank.
The attack comes after a Friday car ramming by a Palestinian near Jenin in the northern West Bank that the army said killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded two others.
Tensions were high after Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas called for a day of rage on Friday to mark 100 days since US President Donald Trump's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Palestinians also see the city as their capital and Trump's recognition broke with decades of US policy that Jerusalem's status would be negotiated between the parties.
Palestinian leaders have boycotted Trump's administration over the declaration, though the White House says it still plans to push ahead with its efforts to restart peace talks.
At least 32 Palestinians and four Israelis have been killed since Trump's announcement, which set off major protests.
The United States is planning to open its new embassy in Jerusalem in May to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel's founding.
Palestinians commemorate May 15 as the Nakba, or "catastrophe," marking when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians either fled or were expelled in the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.
- Gaza tensions -
There have also been tensions along the border between Gaza and Israel in recent days.
Israel's military said Sunday it had carried out an air raid overnight against an underground Hamas facility in the Gaza Strip and destroyed a separate tunnel under construction that could be used for attacks.
No casualties were reported in either operation, which came after an explosive device was detonated near the Gaza border with Israel, the latest in a string of such incidents.
Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, called Israel's actions an attempt "to scare the people" and head off planned protests along the border beginning later this month.
Israel "bears all the consequences of the escalation," Hamas spokesman Fawzy Barhoum said.
Beginning on March 30, Gazans are planning to erect hundreds of tents near the Israeli border in a six-week show of support for Palestinian refugees.
Two explosive devices were detonated Thursday along the border, which had already provoked Israeli attacks on Hamas positions.
Also on February 17, four Israeli soldiers were wounded by an improvised explosive device on the border, sparking intense military retaliation.
It was not clear who was behind the blasts, but Israel held Hamas responsible as the de facto power in the Palestinian enclave.
Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008. The strip has been under an Israeli blockade for around a decade.
LATEST WORLD NEWS: US Navy launches submarine with gamepad-guided periscope
The Navy's fourth USS Colorado attack submarine has recently gone into service
The Navy's fourth USS Colorado attack submarine has recently gone into service with an Xbox controller onboard. No, not so sailors can play Overwatch: they'll actually be using the gaming device to steer the vehicle's two photonics masts, which you can think of as high-tech replacements for typical periscopes. The masts don't require periscope tubes to work and rely on high-res cameras to capture images to display on a big screen instead. When the military first announced that it's using an Xbox controller on the Colorado, it said the device was replacing the joystick and control panel Lockheed Martin originally designed for the sensors.
The original controls would've cost the Navy around $38,000, which is a ton of money to spend on a system that sailors found clunky and difficult to use. So, Lockheed Martin subbed them with controllers during the trial phase and found that operators were able to figure out how to maneuver the high-tech periscopes using the devices within just a few minutes. The Navy now doesn't have to spend extra for training -- and controllers only cost $30 a pop.
Now that the Colorado is an official naval asset, the US Navy will be using the 377-foot-long sub to conduct surveillance and to fight off enemy submarines and surface ships. It's the only attack submarine that uses an Xbox controller right now, but it won't be the last: the Navy plans to equip all modernized Virginia-class subs with one in the future.
AP
LATEST WORLD NEWS: Turkish forces and Syrian allies drive Kurds from Afrin
Kurdish boy holds his baby brother as he walks with his family in Afrin
A kurdish boy holds his baby brother, as he walks with his family in Afrin, Syria March 18, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
By Dominic Evans and Lisa Barrington
ISTANBUL/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Turkish forces and their Syrian rebel allies swept into the northwestern Syrian town of Afrin on Sunday, raising their flags in the town center and declaring full control after an eight-week campaign to drive out Kurdish YPG forces.
A spokesman for the rebel fighters said they entered Afrin before dawn, meeting no resistance. A war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said pockets of YPG fighters defied orders to withdraw, but Turkish forces were in control.
The fight for Afrin, a once-stable pocket of northwest Syria, has opened a new front in Syria's multi-sided civil war and highlighted the ever-greater role of foreign powers such as Turkey in the seven-year-old conflict.
Ankara says Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters are an extension of a militant group waging an insurgency inside Turkey, and vowed to crush what it described as a "terror corridor" of YPG-controlled territory along Turkey's southern border with Syria.
It has threatened to extend the Afrin offensive to another Kurdish-controlled region further east where U.S. forces are stationed alongside the YPG, Washington's ally against Islamic State in Syria.
"Afrin city center is under control as of 8:30 this morning," Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told a rally commemorating the World War One Gallipoli campaign, adding that Turkish and Free Syrian Army flags had been raised in the town center.
"Most of the terrorists have already fled with tails between their legs. Our special forces and members of the Free Syrian Army are cleaning the remains and the traps they left behind," Erdogan said. "In the center of Afrin, symbols of trust and stability are waving instead of rags of terrorists."
An official from the local Kurdish authority raised the prospect of a guerrilla campaign against Turkey, saying Kurdish forces were still present across the Afrin region and would "strike the positions of the Turkish enemy and its mercenaries at every opportunity."
"Our forces all over Afrin will become a constant nightmare for them," Othman Sheikh Issa, co-chair of the Afrin executive council, said in a televised statement.
STATUE TORN DOWN
A Whatsapp group run by the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces said Turkish and Syrian rebel troops tore down a statue in Afrin, in what it called a "blatant violation of Kurdish people's culture and history".
In Turkey, dozens of pro-Kurdish and leftist groups appealed to world powers to press for the Turkish and Syrian rebel forces to withdraw from Afrin and avoid a "human tragedy".
Free Syrian Army spokesman Mohammad al-Hamadeen said the fighters entered the town from the north, east and west. Kurdish forces had pulled back to Syrian government-controlled areas around the city of Aleppo, or to the Kurdish-held region east of the Euphrates river, he said.
"Maybe (Afrin) will be cleared by the end of the day -- it's empty of fighters, they cleared out," Hamadeen told Reuters.
Turkey's armed forces said that troops were combing the streets for mines and improvised explosive devices.
Government spokesman Bekir Bozdag said the military campaign would continue to secure areas around Afrin and make sure food and medicine were available.
"We have more to do. But the project of building a terrorism corridor and building a terrorist state is over," he said.
The World Food Programme said it was distributing food to 25,000 people in the nearby towns of Nubl and Zahra, including people just arriving from Afrin.
More than 150,000 people fled Afrin in recent days, the Syrian Observatory said, as Turkey pressed on with its campaign despite a U.N. Security Council call for a 30-day ceasefire across Syria.
Ankara said the demand did not apply to Afrin, but its operation has faced criticism in the West.
France's foreign minister said Turkey's concerns for its border security did not justify "the deep incursion of Turkish troops in the Afrin zone", which could also weaken international action against remaining Islamic State fighters in Syria.
France, like the United States, has given arms and training to a YPG-led militia in the fight against Islamic State in Syria, and also has dozens of special forces personnel based in the region.
(Additional reporting by Yesim Dikmen and Irem Koca in Istanbul, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Editing by Angus MacSwan, Richard Balmforth and, Larry King)
LATEST WORLD NEWS: Israeli military destroys Gaza tunnel, underground military complex
Israeli military destroys Gaza tunnel, underground military complex
Jerusalem (CNN)The Israeli military destroyed a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza on Sunday morning and struck an underground "military complex" in central Gaza, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said. According to Conricus, Hamas was trying to reconnect an old tunnel, destroyed in July 2014, to a new section of tunnel in southern Gaza. Conricus added that Israel has been monitoring the digging using new detection technology for the last few weeks.
"What Hamas was trying to do was build kind of a detour -- a new tunnel that would link up with a new part that they thought would be usable," Conricus said. The tunnel was destroyed from within Israeli territory, but notwith explosives. Conricus said that it was filled with a "certain compound" that would render the tunnel useless. The military would not provide further information on what was used to make the tunnel useless.
This marks the fourth Gaza tunnel Israel has destroyed since late-October. The third tunnel, destroyed in mid-January, was a mile-long tunnel dug under Israel that stretched from Gaza to Egypt.
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman commented on the tunnel, saying, "I suggest Hamas invests their money in the welfare of the residents of Gaza, because they won't have any more tunnels by the end of the year."
In a separate incident over the weekend, the Israeli air force struck what the IDF termed an "underground military complex" in central Gaza.
In response to Israel's actions, Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas, said, "The enemy thinks that this escalation will achieve its objectives and break the will of the Palestinian people. The occupation is held accountable for the continued escalation."
Overnight Saturday, the Israeli air force struck what they termed a "military target" in the northern Gaza strip, the Israeli military said, after an explosive device was detonated near the security fence between Israel and Gaza. The military first responded with tank fire directed at a Hamas military observation post in Gaza, before turning to air strikes.
"From our perspective, Hamas is responsible for any act of hostility that emanates from Gaza," Conricus said.
Tensions between Israel and Gaza have remained high ever since President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December. Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza have regularly called for "Days of Rage," fueling wide-scale protests along the Gaza border.
The most recent "Day of Rage" was this past Friday to mark 100 days since Trump's recognition of Jerusalem.
CNN's Amir Tal and Abeer Salman contributed to this report.
LATEST WORLD NEWS: Israeli killed by Palestinian in Jerusalem Old City stabbing
Israeli security forces stand guard at the site of a stabbing attack by a Palestinian assailant, who was shot dead, in Jerusalem's Old City on March 18, 2018 (AFP Photo/Ahmad GHARABLI)
Jerusalem (AFP) - A Palestinian stabbed an Israeli security guard to death in Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday before being shot dead by a police officer, Israeli officials said.
The stabbing came with concerns over the potential for an upsurge in unrest in the coming weeks as the United States prepares to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
The security guard was taken to hospital in serious condition suffering a stab wound to his torso, medics said.
The hospital later announced he had died from his wounds. Israeli media reported that he was in his 30s, with some reports saying he was off-duty at the time.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld confirmed the assailant had been shot dead.
Israel's Shin Bet domestic security service identified the assailant as Abdul Rahmani Faddal, 28, and a father of two from Aqraba near Nablus in the north of the occupied West Bank.
The attack comes after a Friday car ramming by a Palestinian near Jenin in the northern West Bank that the army said killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded two others.
Tensions were high after Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas called for a day of rage on Friday to mark 100 days since US President Donald Trump's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Palestinians also see the city as their capital and Trump's recognition broke with decades of US policy that Jerusalem's status would be negotiated between the parties.
Palestinian leaders have boycotted Trump's administration over the declaration, though the White House says it still plans to push ahead with its efforts to restart peace talks.
At least 32 Palestinians and four Israelis have been killed since Trump's announcement, which set off major protests.
The United States is planning to open its new embassy in Jerusalem in May to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel's founding.
Palestinians commemorate May 15 as the Nakba, or "catastrophe," marking when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians either fled or were expelled in the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.
- Gaza tensions -
There have also been tensions along the border between Gaza and Israel in recent days.
Israel's military said Sunday it had carried out an air raid overnight against an underground Hamas facility in the Gaza Strip and destroyed a separate tunnel under construction that could be used for attacks.
No casualties were reported in either operation, which came after an explosive device was detonated near the Gaza border with Israel, the latest in a string of such incidents.
Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, called Israel's actions an attempt "to scare the people" and head off planned protests along the border beginning later this month.
Israel "bears all the consequences of the escalation," Hamas spokesman Fawzy Barhoum said.
Beginning on March 30, Gazans are planning to erect hundreds of tents near the Israeli border in a six-week show of support for Palestinian refugees.
Two explosive devices were detonated Thursday along the border, which had already provoked Israeli attacks on Hamas positions.
Also on February 17, four Israeli soldiers were wounded by an improvised explosive device on the border, sparking intense military retaliation.
It was not clear who was behind the blasts, but Israel held Hamas responsible as the de facto power in the Palestinian enclave.
Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008. The strip has been under an Israeli blockade for around a decade.
LATEST NEWS: Australian officials deny claims MH370 can be seen from the air, was riddled with bullet holes
Turkish-backed Syrian Arab fighters stand in the back of a vehicle after seizing control of the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) on March 18, 2018 (AFP Photo/BULENT KILIC)
Beirut (AFP) - The capture of Afrin from the Kurds by Turkish-led fighters on Sunday could have major repercussions for Syria's protracted war.
Here we look at what it means for Turkey, the Syrian regime and the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia who were in control of the city.
- What has Erdogan won?
Forces led by Turkey launched an offensive on January 20 to retake the enclave of Afrin from the YPG, which Ankara considers to be a "terrorist" offshoot of its own outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The capture of the key city was a major win for Ankara and consolidates its control along its border in northern Syria, where it already supported a wide variety of armed groups.
"The Turks are victorious, they were always going to be victorious," Aaron Stein, from the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center, said.
"They have lopped off another piece of Syrian territory and will have incorporated it into Turkey governing structures."
Syria's seven-year war has killed more than 350,000 people and displaced more than half the country's population either inside Syria or abroad -- including more than three million to Turkey.
The territorial gains could see Ankara "move refugee populations based inside Turkey back into Turkish-controlled areas", Stein said.
Nicholas Heras, a security fellow at the Center for a New American Security said taking Afrin was a success for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who shrugged off international concern to press on with the operation.
"Afrin is one of the most strategic areas of northwest Syria. It is a piece of real estate that anchors Turkey's presence for many years to come," Heras said.
This victory may not be the end.
Erdogan has repeatedly said that after taking Afrin, Turkey's offensive would expand to key border towns controlled by the YPG right up to the Iraqi frontier.
- How disastrous for Kurds?
The loss of Afrin is a major setback for Syria's Kurds who have largely stayed out of the country's seven-year conflict as they focused on building an autonomous region after years of marginalisation.
Before the Turkish assault, the Kurdish-controlled region -- known as Rojava -- ran across large swathes of Kurdish-majority parts of north and northeast Syria.
Now the community has lost control of one of the three "cantons" it ran and their dreams of self-determination look increasingly fragile.
It is "a big blow for the Kurdish self-rule project", Kurdish affairs expert Mutlu Civiroglu said.
"Now the other Kurdish regions are under risk."
The Kurd's struggle against Turkey has also had another major impact -- diverting them from the US-backed fight to wipe out the remaining pockets of the Islamic State group in Syria.
The Kurds have been the mainstay of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance that has battled against jihadist with the support of a US-led coalition.
Earlier this month the SDF said 1,700 of its fighters had been redeployed to fight the Turkish-led onslaught against Afrin.
- Fresh trouble for Assad?
While the Kurds and the Turks have been the main protagonists in the tussle for Afrin, its loss will also dent Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.
The Syrian regime fiercely opposed the Turkish incursion and gave the green light for pro-government fighters to head to front line to try to turn back the advance.
Ankara's gain comes just as Assad and his Russian-backed forces are in the ascendancy elsewhere in the country -- reasserting their authority on other areas beyond their control.
Now the Turkish seizure of Afrin appears to place a key strategic region which the regime was hoping to regain firmly out of its grasp.
"Every metre of Syria that Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel proxies march on is now placed well beyond the reach of Damascus," analyst Heras said.
And despite the close ties between Assad and Moscow, Heras said Turkey's consolidation of territory in Syria was done "with the blessing of Russia"
LATEST NEWS: Saudi Crown Prince Must Answer For Atrocities In Yemen
Saudi Arabia’s much-discussed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is coming to America this week. Washington policymakers are likely to praise the future king’s much-marketed economic reform plans and pundits will likely speculate on how his stance on Iran will impact American diplomacy. What is less likely to be examined in meeting rooms or on the nightly news is what he’s done in Yemen.
Mohammed bin Salman is not only the crown prince of Saudi Arabia: He is also its defense minister. He oversees all Saudi military forces, according to the defense ministry website; and he has served as the commander of the international coalition in the “Decisive Storm” operation—the coalition operating in Yemen—since March 26, 2015.
In March 2015, the Saudis and their Sunni allies in the region attacked the Iran-backed Houthi armed group that then controlled most of Yemen. In the nearly three years since, that coalition, with U.S. support, has continuously bombarded the country with airstrikes that have killed or wounded thousands of civilians in violation of the laws of war. It’s also imposed a blockade that has worsened Yemen’s already precarious humanitarian situation.
Each time I’ve visited Yemen, I am struck by how little the parties to the conflict have done to mitigate the suffering they are responsible for, and how their allies, including the U.S., ignore the relentless abuses exacerbating the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The Houthis, too, deserve their share of blame, but it is the Saudi crown prince the United States is welcoming.
The U.S. can use this visit to try to put a stop to the coalition’s many abuses. If President Donald Trump won’t, Congress should.
Certain individuals are behind the abuses and have the power to curtail them and minimize harm to civilians. If they don’t, they should be held accountable for what they’ve done.
Last month, I traveled to Yemen’s southern port city of Aden. While Saudi Arabia continues to restrict access to the Houthi-controlled north – where airstrikes are being conducted – the Yemeni government has allowed some access to territory under its control.
Aden has seen much hardship during this war – fighting, frequent fuel crises, an array of newly empowered armed groups, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances. The city is now also home to thousands of people displaced from fighting on Yemen’s western coast. Men and women are desperately seeking medical treatment for their wounded children or looking for ways to feed their families. Some told me they brought their children to Aden because they didn’t know how to protect them from fighting elsewhere.
Repeatedly, people said they’d fled their homes because they saw a market bombed, a house hit, a neighbor’s life destroyed after a shell struck. When “the war reached us,” a displaced woman said, the only choice was to flee. When the Houthis controlled an area, other women told us, they feared coalition airstrikes; when the coalition was in control, they feared shelling by the Houthis. Three years into the conflict, no one trusted the coalition or the Houthis to take the necessary steps to protect civilians from harm.
Parents showed me their wounds, and their children’s, but they said that fighters got priority care in the hospitals. And the families I spoke to couldn’t afford to get treatment. No one harmed had received any compensation from the warring parties. And they had no idea if the people responsible for the pain they’d suffered had been investigated.
What was particularly horrible was how familiar stories like these had become.
Millions are now facing hunger and disease. But wartime famine and cholera are not inevitable. Certain individuals are behind the abuses and have the power to curtail them and minimize harm to civilians. If they don’t, they should be held accountable for what they’ve done.
This includes Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The United States has supported Saudi Arabia in the Yemen conflict from the very beginning. During the Obama administration, the U.S. provided intelligence and aerial refueling for air attacks, as well as bombs and materiel. It did this even after it became clear that many airstrikes were being carried out without regard for the laws of war that prohibit deliberate or indiscriminate attacks against civilians, laws which the Saudis have acknowledged.
Relatives in one village told me how they’d pooled their money to build a well, which coalition aircraft destroyed in late 2016, killing and wounding dozens of men and boys. About a month later, the coalition bombed a prison compound. A child locked up by the Houthis for a minor offense shivered from burn wounds as he described his fear as the bombs fell. In the rubble of these attacks, we found the remnants of U.S.-origin munitions – including one produced months after coalition violations had become clear.
When Donald Trump took office, he could have acted to stop the weapons flow. But instead he used his first trip abroad as president to announce what was billed as the biggest bundle of U.S. weapons sales to Saudi Arabia yet. Since then, the coalition has continued bombing homes, shops and markets – killing and wounding dozens, including many more children.
President Trump should recognize that by selling arms to a military force that is likely to use them unlawfully, he is putting U.S. officials at risk of aiding and abetting war crimes. He should use the crown prince’s trip to change course, making clear that arms sales will stop until abuses do.
The U.S. Congress has not remained silent in the face of mounting Saudi atrocities in Yemen. Nearly half the Senate voted to block an arms sale to Saudi Arabia last year. This month, two separate bills raise concerns about U.S. involvement in the war.
With Mohammed bin Salman’s visit, Congress should step up, even if Trump doesn’t, and remind the crown prince that he cannot wipe his hands of Yemen’s horrors. He should take concrete steps to stop the violations, transparently, credibly and impartially investigate past abuses, and compensate civilian victims.
Millions of Yemeni civilians deserve, at long last, to have their lives treated as they should have been all along: valuable, precious and worth protecting.
Crown princes should not escape accountability.
Kristine Beckerle is the Yemen researcher at Human Rights Watch.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
LATEST NEWS: North Korean official to meet US delegation in Finland to discuss 'denuclearisation'
Talks are expected to include denuclearisation as well as plans for a summit between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump - AFP
A senior North Korea official has flown to Finland for talks with former US and South Korean officials, in the latest round of a flurry of diplomatic encounters ahead of a proposed summit between Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump.
Choe Kang-il, deputy director-general for North American affairs at the North Korean foreign ministry will meet with former American diplomats including, reported Yonhap news agency, one-time US ambassador to Seoul, Kathleen Stephens, and South Korean security experts.
Ms Stephens, a career diplomat who began her career in Beijing, served as ambassador to Seoul from 2008 to 2011 and speaks fluent Korean. Viewed as a Korea expert, in 2015 she was named a distinguished fellow at Stanford University’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Centre.
The South Korean foreign ministry told CNN that the quasi-official talks will address the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, although Mr Choe declined to comment as he boarded a flight from Beijing to Helsinki on Sunday.
A Finnish foreign ministry spokesperson told Finland’s STT news agency that the talks would be “academic” and on the issue of “international relations".
However, the meeting, which will take place at Japanese embassy in Helsinki, is also expected to help pave the way for a historic summit between Mr Kim and Mr Trump which aims to resolve tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missiles programmes.
Mr Choe, a veteran diplomat who often represents the reclusive regime on the global stage, also attended talks between foreign minister Ri Yong-ho and his Swedish counterpart, Margot Wallstrom, in Stockholm last week.
Ms Wallstrom said that Sweden stood ready to assist the US and North Korea in moving towards their unprecedented summit, telling reporters that the Swedish government “values this opportunity to arrange a meeting” between the traditional foes.
Choe Kang-il, deputy director general for North American affairs at the North Korean foreign ministry Credit: Neil Connor
Sweden, which performs consular activities for the US in Pyongyang as it has no embassy, is also reported to be negotiating for the release of three Americans currently imprisoned in North Korea.
Kim Hak-song and Kim Sang Duk were detained in 2017 on suspicion of “hostile acts” and Kim Dong Chul was arrested in 2015 and sentenced to ten years for espionage.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has so far remained silent on President Trump’s surprise acceptance of his offer to meet him in person and the regime has not formally acknowledged the summit.
However, South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha sought to quell doubts over North Korea’s sincerity during a visit to Washington last week.
Mr Kim had personally “given his word” on proceeding towards denuclearisation, she said in an interview with CBS.
She added that the North Korean leader “would also need some time given the readiness with which President Trump has accepted the invitation to talks,” and that Pyongyang was probably now “taking stock.”
Russian ex-spy's poisoning in UK believed from nerve agent in car vents; at least 38 others sickened: Sources
PHOTO: Sergei Skripal, a former colonel of Russia's GRU military intelligence service, looks on inside the defendants' cage as he attends a hearing at the Moscow military district court, Russia, Aug. 9, 2006. (Kommersant/Yuri Senatorov via Reuters, FILE)
The Russian ex-spy who along with his daughter was poisoned by a nerve agent in the U.K. may have been exposed to it through his car's ventilation system, sources told ABC News.Former Russian spy Sergey Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were found slumped over, unconscious on a park bench earlier this month in the southern English town of Salisbury. The U.K. has accused Russia of bearing responsibility for the March 4 attack, which British officials say involved a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed secretly by Russia.
U.K. officials now have a clearer picture of just how the attack was conducted, sources said. They believe the nerve agent was used in a dust-like powdered form and that it circulated through the vents of Skripal's BMW.
Three intelligence officials told ABC News that the Russian military origin and the nature of the substance, a “dusty” organophosphate, are clear to them.
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Why Saudi Arabia Just Bought One of America's Most Controversial Warships
Care to take a guess which it could be?
Why Saudi Arabia Just Bought One of America's Most Controversial Warships
Lockheed Martin has taken the first steps in fulfilling a massive naval deal it reached with Saudi Arabia last year.
As first reported by the Motley Fool, the Pentagon awarded Lockheed $481.1 million for "long-lead-time material" to begin construction of four Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) ships. The MMSC ships are modified versions of the Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), which Lockheed also makes. Last November, the Pentagon had awarded the company a $22.74 million contract to work out the modifications that Saudi Arabia had requested. The latest contract indicates that the design has been agreed upon.
The United States and Saudi Arabia have been negotiating a deal for the purchase of modern frigates from Washington since 2015. Ahead of President Donald J. Trump’s visit to Riyadh last year, reports emerged that the two countries had reached an agreement for the purchase of four modified Freedom-class LCSs for $6 billion. Along with the ships themselves, the $6 billion contract would cover support systems like training, spare parts and other logistical items.
The four LCSs are a main element of the Saudi Naval Enhancement Program II (SNEP II), an initiative Riyadh launched in 2008 to update its aging navy. As currently constructed, the Royal Saudi Navy is extremely underwhelming, with its most modern ships being modified French La Fayette–class frigates that were purchased in 2003. As The Drive has noted of the La Fayette–class frigates, “These 4,650-ton vessels have launchers for Exocet anti-ship and Aster 15 surface-to-air missiles, along with four torpedo tubes, a helicopter and a 76mm main gun. The design has limited stealthy features to help make it less visible to enemy radars.”
The MMSC ships Riyadh is purchasing from the United States should serve as direct replacements for Saudi Arabia’s French-supplied Al Madinah–class ships. Saudi Arabia has four of these ships, the first one of which was commissioned all the way back in 1985. The only other notable warships in the Saudi Navy are four Badr-class corvettes that Riyadh purchased from the United States in the early 1980s.
The new ships Saudi Arabia is purchasing will displace about 4,000 tons and have a crew size of between 100–130 sailors. The ships will be powered by two Rolls Royce Mt-30 gas turbines and two Colt-Pielstick diesel engines. As the Multi-Mission part of MMSC suggests, the Saudi Navy will use them for a variety of purposes, including anti-air, anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare (ASW).
To that end, each ship will have an eight-cell Mk-41 vertical launch system and a 4D air search radar, according to U.S. Naval Institute News. Saudi Arabia is also purchasing 532 Raytheon RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM). Each Mk41 cell can fit four ESSMs so each ship could theoretically be armed with sixty-four anti-air missiles. The LCS is often criticized for lacking sufficient air defense capabilities. Among the other weapon systems the ships will feature, again as reported by USNI News, are “eight RGM-84 Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles (ASM), anti-submarine warfare (ASW) sonar suites, and torpedoes.”
Other reports have said that the Saudi version of the LCS will have Raytheon SeaRAM Anti-Ship Missile Defense System and 76mm main deck gun (instead of the 57mm deck gun found on the Freedom-class LCS). The Saudi variant reported slightly longer as well. But USNI News reports that the “primary difference between the Freedom-class and the Saudi-variant is the lack of modular mission space found in the U.S. version of the Littoral Combat Ship.”
“This acquisition will enhance the stability and maritime security in the sea areas around the Arabian Peninsula and support strategic objectives of the United States,” the United States said in a statement announcing the sale last year. “The proposed sale will provide Saudi Arabia with an increased ability to meet current and future maritime threats from enemy weapon systems. The Multi-Mission Surface Combatant ships will provide protection-in-depth for critical industrial infrastructure and for the sea lines of communication.”
The LCS has come under fierce criticism in the United States. As Sebastien Roblin summed it up for The National Interest:
The Littoral Combat Ships, come with a few minor flaws. They don’t have the firepower to hit anything more than a few miles away. They’re unlikely to survive being hit by anything in return. They cost more than twice as much as promised, and require 75 percent more crew to operate than planned for.
Still, they could make nice additions for the Saudi Navy, especially with their upgraded firepower. After all, the Persian Gulf is extremely shallow and thus the perfect operating environment for the LCS. Furthermore, Middle Eastern nations do not boast extremely capable navies like those in Asia, which should make the ships more survivable than their American counterparts operating in the Western Pacific. In any case, the Saudi MMSC’s will have much greater air defense capabilities.
Saudi Arabia doesn’t have a huge need for a navy—particularly with the U.S. Navy presence in the region—but the ships can be used to protect the Saudi coast and perhaps intercept Iranian resupplies to proxies like the Houthis in Yemen. They will also give Riyadh greater air defense capabilities to protect either critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia or sea lines of communication.
This will be the first export of the LCS design, and the improvements Saudi Arabia is making to its variants could even be used by the U.S. Navy in future purchases.
Zachary Keck (@ZacharyKeck) is a former managing editor of The National Interest.
Image: Flickr
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China says resolutely opposed to new U.S. law on ties with Taiwan
A double rainbow is seen behind Taiwanese flag during the National Day celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, October 10, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry on Saturday expressed its "resolute opposition" after U.S. President Donald Trump signed legislation that encourages the United States to send senior officials to Taiwan to meet Taiwanese counterparts and vice versa.
The bill, which is non-binding, would have gone into effect on Saturday morning, even if Trump had not signed it.
The move adds to strains between the two countries over trade, as Trump has enacted tariffs and called for China to reduce its huge trade imbalance with the United States, even while Washington has leaned on Beijing to help resolve tensions with North Korea.
In a statement, China's Foreign Ministry said it had lodged "stern representations" with the United States, saying the law sent a "seriously wrong signal" to the forces of Taiwan independence.
"We urge the U.S. side to correct its mistake, stop official exchanges between U.S. and Taiwan officials and substantively raising relations, and prudently and appropriately handle the Taiwan issue to avoid causing serious harm to Sino-U.S. ties and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait region."
China considers self-ruled and democratic Taiwan to be a wayward province ineligible for state-to-state relations.
China's hostility towards Taiwan has risen since the election of President Tsai Ing-wen, of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, in 2016.
It suspects Tsai wants to push for formal independence, which would cross a red line for Communist Party leaders in Beijing, though Tsai has said she wants to maintain the status quo and is committed to ensuring peace.
Taiwan's government has welcomed the new U.S. legislation, saying it looks forward to continuing to deepen its relationship with Washington.
Taiwan's presidential office said in a statement earlier on Saturday that the United States was Taiwan's most important ally and thanked the country for its steadfast support.
The United States does not have formal ties with Taiwan but is required by law to help it with self-defense and is the island's primary source of weapons.
Defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the Chinese civil war to the Communists.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Fabian Hamacher in TAIPEI; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Hugh Lawson)
China threatens to respond with 'military pressure' after Trump supports official visits to Taiwan
China's state-run media said the Taiwan Travel Act signed by President Donald Trump on Friday could lead to military drills.
China's state-run media said the Taiwan Travel Act signed by President Donald Trump could lead to military pressure.
The law, which allows official visits between the two countries, has angered China as it considers Taiwan one of its provinces and regularly holds military drills near the island.
The warning comes as relations between the US and China deteriorate over tariffs and a potential trade war.
China's could respond to a law that encourages relations between the US and Taiwan with "military pressure", the country’s state-run media said on Sunday.
On Friday President Donald Trump signed the Taiwan Travel Act, which went into effect the following day, encouraging visits between the United States and Taiwan at all levels. The US ended diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 but continues to have a "robust unofficial relationship" with the self-ruled, democratic island, that Beijing considers a province of China.
"China will and should take timely countermeasures against the US and all "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces through diplomatic and military means if US legislation that encourages high-level contact between the US and the island of Taiwan is implemented," China’s English language Global Times reported.
The paper, an offshoot of the People’s Daily, cited a former major general in the Chinese army and Liu Weidong, an expert in US relations at a government-run research institute. And given the publication’s close links to Beijing, the views likely align with those in power.
The Chinese embassy in Washington initially responded on Friday saying the law "severely violates" the "political foundation of the China-U.S. relationship" and its "one-China" approach to Taiwan.
In 2005, China created an anti-secession law that allows the country to use "non-peaceful means" to prevent Taiwan establishing independence.
"If any 'Taiwan independence' secessionist forces perceive the US bill as a 'pro-independence' signal, the Chinese army will resume its military probes circling the island and send more military vessels and airplanes to patrol the Straits," Global Times quoted Liu as saying.
China regularly carries out military drills near Taiwan, which has been a cause for concern internationally. Last year, China conducted 16 drills near Taiwan and a report from the island's defense department said China's "military threat towards us grows daily."
China may also take diplomatic action against the US, Global Times said, including stopping high-ranking official visits to Washington for a set time.
High-level diplomatic relations between the two countries appear to be getting more strained by the day.
The heightened tensions between China and the US come after Trump signed a law in December allowing US navy ships to visit Taiwan. China previously said any such visits could provoke war.
Trump also appeared to target China with new tariffs on steel and aluminum. In response, China warned the US that trade wars "harm the initiator" and is thought to be considering responding with its own tariffs.
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