Setting up a Mushroom Farm - Factors to look for

What factors to look for while setting up a mushroom farm - 

1. What kind of mushrooms should be grown? In market white button mushrooms come to mind when you talk of mushrooms. The oyster mushrooms too have a small niche. So, what is the point of talking of any other mushroom except white button mushroom.
2. Location - For growing button mushrooms, temperature requirement of 16 degrees to 25 degree C is there,therefore whole of north India is suitable. One or two winter crops can be taken without cooling. Climate control would be much cheaper than rest of the country.
3. Raw materials - Main raw material is straw of wheat ,found abundantly in upper part of India. Paddy straw can also be used but wheat straw is easy to use.Chicken manure from poultry farms is other ingredient to make mushroom compost.Ground water availability is another requirement.
4. Market - Connectivity with big cities by road or railways is essential. Besides going to mandies, direct sellig to big stores is another growing option. Having a contract with a big food processing unit (canning or frozen) for part production is also lucrative.
5. Electricity - Availability and tariff is another factor to be considered for a climate controlled mushroom farm with continuous production.
6. Labour - Availability of local or migrant labour.
7. Staff - Like any other business, personnal requirement should be considered. Hiring an experienced grower and a market strategy are important aspects.
8. Other factors - Many states are giving subsidies to set up agri-based projects. Cold stores can be converted into mushroom growing units.

Why grow Mushrooms?

In nature, like other fungi, mushrooms are also decomposers, essential to recycle organic wastes and therefore essential part of ecosystem. in commercial mushroom growing, we decompose straw and other byproducts of agriculture and let mushrooms grow over it under controlled climate. We are thus helping nature do its job.

From hobby club, to side business of a farmer, medium sized mushroom farm producing one to two tons a day to very big farms exporting canned, freeze-dried and frozen mushrooms to US and Europe. Mushroom growing is being taken at all levels. This is ideal for rural youth.

"M" stand for mushroom and for money. Only if logistics are right and required skill is developed to produce selective compost and to stimulate growth. Perishable nature of the crop makes the grower to pick, pack and send to market or processing unit in time.

Land requirement is not much as mushrooms are grown in tiers and barren land can be used.

Mushrooms, also referred as" The Perfect Food" are nature’s gift to human beings. In a country like ours, with a large part of economically weak populations, we must encourage mushroom growing and therefore eating of this rich source of digestible proteins to counter malnutrition. The food of future are mushrooms (fungi) and spirulina (algae).These super foods are the most exciting nutritional discoveries on earth.

Extensive mushroom cultivation can open vistas of employment opportunities in rural areas as exampled in China and Indonesia.