Fulrida Ekka was a three-year-old woman who lived near Siliguri, West Bengal, and knew that she needed a new source for income.
Her husband had passed away and her seasonal tea leaf picking was not enough to support her family.
She was looking for ways to make money and came across mushroom farming. She was able to get started with the help of Live Life Happily, an Indian rural development organization.
She now sells two to three bags of her mushroom crop per day, making her about $92 (PS73), per month.
White flower mushrooms are grown in large bags that hang from the ceiling. Mrs Ekka usually has 10 mushrooms per month.
She says, “It’s a sight to happiness when it grows because I know now that me and my family won’t sleep on an empty stomach.”
Although mushroom growing has made a significant difference in Mrs Ekka’s life, some believe that the crop should be more prominently supported by India’s agriculture sector.
Rouf Hamza Boda says that India has all the necessary elements to become a superpower in mushroom production. He has spent over 20 years studying 100 varieties of mushrooms in Jammu and Kashmir.
“India is home to a huge variety of wild mushrooms. He explains that there is a lot of composting material and cheap labour.
Despite these favorable conditions, India only accounts for 2% of world mushroom production. China, however, is the dominant producer at 75%.
According to Mr Boda part of the problem lies in India’s national appetite. Many Indians don’t like mushrooms and find them “strange, deadly”
He says that not much research has been done to identify wild mushrooms and their edibility.
He says that there are two major obstacles to popularizing mushrooms: the lack of awareness and the low cost of cultivation.
Entrepreneurs who are willing to take risks have plenty of options.
Leena Thomas and Jithu tried growing mushrooms in Jithu’s bedroom four years ago.
Jithu stated that he started the project simply out of curiosity after seeing mushrooms grow in plastic bottles on the internet.
His initial success motivated him to take courses in mushroom cultivation. This helped his hobby grow quickly into a profitable business.
The mother and son entrepreneurs from Kerala now have 2000 mushroom beds that produce 100kg per day under the company Leena’s Mushroom.
He explains that mushroom farming has many benefits, including a short growing time.
It is not an easy task. The crop is delicate and highly sensitive. The crop can be completely destroyed by a small change in temperature or pests.
To maintain the ideal temperature and humidity, the greenhouses are powered by fans that draw air from outside. Monitoring of carbon dioxide levels is also done.
It’s well worth it. He believes that mushrooms are “lucrative” when they have good prices.
Jithu says that fresh mushrooms are sold directly to retailers the same day without middlemen.
Parimal Ramesh Udgave is taking a different approach. To gain a deep understanding of fungiculture, he studied microbiology.
Biobritte is a business that grows mushrooms. It also dried the crop for mushroom powders and other health supplements.
He says that mushroom growing is difficult despite his success.
He says that while people see mushrooms as a quick, lucrative business, it must also be combined with technical knowledge.
Mr Udgave says that many mushroom start-ups fail.
Anirban Naandy, a rural developer researcher from IIT-Kharagpur and his wife Poulamichaki Chaki Nandy believe there’s plenty of room for smaller players in the mushroom industry.
Live Life Happily is a non-governmental organization that has taught more than 8,000 West Bengal women, Fulrida Ekka included, how to grow mushrooms for profit.
Mr Nandy says that these women are poor and have no land or other means of earning a living.
Technology for business:
Many rural women are in financial trouble after becoming widows. They can’t make enough money picking tea.
It is possible to learn how to grow mushrooms. He says that women can grow mushrooms in their own backyards as a hobby or part-time job.
According to the Nandys there is a lot of customer demand. “Especially in cosmopolitan regions like Darjeeling, this ensures quick income,” says Mr Nandy.
The extra income from mushrooming can make a real difference in your life.
These women have become decision-makers and gained bargaining power in the house. Mrs Nandy says that one woman refused to marry her child at an early age, because she could manage to fund her education through mushroom farming.
