PESHAWAR:The increasing trend of mushroom farming, the growing of fleshy and edible fruit bodies of several species of macrofungi, is not only serving as a source of livelihood for people hard-pressed in a prevailing economic recession but also promotes the intake of healthy and nutritious food among people.
As the growing season of mushrooms starts in October, stocks of nutritious food have started arriving in shops of vegetables, attracting the attention of customers towards bell-shaped fungi.
“Customers are showing interest in this food which is new as it is being introduced in vegetable markets a couple of years earlier,” informs Diyar Khan, a shopkeeper at Vegetable Market in the Firdous area of Peshawar.
People, especially city dwellers, asked about mushrooms during the four months of summer when the cultivation stops due to climatic conditions, Diyar added.
He said 250 grams of mushroom are sold at a price of Rs.100 and has become a part of the list of the grocery in the majority of homes.
Diyar also shared that the number of mushroom growers is increasing which helped in maintaining its price at reasonable rates.
“Trial base training about the cultivation of mushrooms through the modern technique of farming has generated interest among youth and women folk to opt it as a source of livelihood,” apprised Sher Muhammad, an expert in Mushroom farming who also owns a farm in Peshawar.
Training by private institutes, and non-governmental organizations, is showing positive results by diverting the attention of several people towards this source of livelihood benefiting people of all ages and gender.
“Even women folk are also showing interest in growing mushrooms because of its easy procedure of cultivation within the premises of home,” added Sher Muhammad who has the credit of introducing mushroom farming in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in general and Peshawar in particular by imparting guidance and training to several people both male and female in his private capacity.
Apart from Sher Muhammad a Swiss-based Non-Governmental Organization, Helvetas is also engaged in imparting training on mushroom farming in the Charsadda, Bajaur and Mohmand districts of KP.
“We have recently completed training to around 30 families in the Tangi area of Charsadda district and trail base production has shown good results attracting more people to join the practice and made it a vocation for themselves, said Fayaz Ahmad Coordinator of Value Chain Helvetas.
Talking to reporter, Fayaz informed that trainees were selected from tobacco growing area whose winter season is dormant and can easily get themselves involved in cultivating mushroom which starts growing from September to late March.
Apart from imparting training, each family is provided with 150 bags free of cost for growing mushrooms and a market chain was also developed for the supply of yield at a suitable price.
Fayaz informed that each bag has a production capacity of two kg of mushroom at a cost price of Rs. 100 per kg. While in the market, these mushrooms are easily sold for Rs. 400, giving a profit of Rs. 300 to the grower.
In the case of the middle man, the grower gets a minimum price of Rs. 250 per Kg which also fetches a price of Rs. 150 per kg making a total of around Rs. 45000 per family per season.
“Mushroom cultivation through the modern method of farming can serve as a potential source of livelihood, especially for unemployed youth and womenfolk besides promoting nutritious food consumption among people,” observed Sher Muhammad.
“It can also serve as a cottage industry as people can do farming in their homes on a low scale,” Sher told reporter.
One kg of mushroom, which takes about 35 days, can easily fetch Rs. 300 profit and ordinary businessmen can easily produce 500 kg of mushrooms at home, he disclosed.
An ordinary person can easily make an earning of Rs. 10,000 to 12,000 by growing mushrooms at their home in a single small room, he claims.
Mushrooms cultivation does not require land and can be grown as a part-time activity, he told and added its cultivation does not require full-time labour and a family member can look after different operations easily.
In mushroom farming, the most popular type of mushroom is grown including oyster mushrooms, both while and golden, button mushrooms and milky mushrooms.
Sher Muhammad also stressed upon the government to give consideration to mushroom farming and arrange training for locals.
He said in the wake of CPEC as a result of which a large number of Chinese and other foreigners are coming to Pakistan, the prospects of mushroom growth is also increasing because they use mushroom in their diet on daily basis.
Afghanistan is also a good market where mushrooms can easily be exported because of their reasonable price, he suggested.
Sher also believed that if facilities are provided, mushrooms produced in Pakistan through farming can also be sold in the Gulf states.