Rakesh Kumar, Sachin Gupta
Indian economy is primarily based on agriculture. At present contribution of agriculture sector in GDP is about 14% and almost 80% of rural population depends upon agriculture and its related occupations for earning their livelihood. In India average income from agriculture per hectare is far less than developed nations of the world. In the present context, there is a strong need to enhance the income from the agriculture sector so as to make it more lucrative. It is necessary for sustaining the interest of present and future generations in agriculture. At present Government of India is also focusing hard to double the farmer’s income from agriculture sector by the year 2022 and this objective of double farm income cannot be achieved only by enhancing the price of the different agricultural products which the farmers produce on their farm. Moreover it has also severe practical implications. So the way out is increasing the existing productivity level of different agricultural and allied ventures and diversifying farm enterprises.
Among different agri-based enterprises, mushroom cultivation is one of the enterprises which has the vast potential to double the existing income level of farmers and this enterprise can easily be adopted by any category of farmers irrespective of their landholding size.Mushroom cultivation is a strong means to diversify livelihoods and strengthen the resilience of farmers. Mushrooms can be grown at a very low cost and in relatively short period as compared to conventional crops.For taking up this enterprise, farmers need very less investment, meager inputs but compulsory training and commitment to work. These resources for mushroom cultivation are easily available and even sometimes provided by concerned agencies with no or low cost.Furthermore, mushroom cultivation uses a limited amount of natural resources such as water and land, compared to other crops being cultivated in the area. Mushroom cultivation can be done at cottage and small scale level besides large scale farming. Mushroom cultivation not only imparts diversification of agriculture but also helps in addressing the problems of quality food, health and environment related issues.
Mushroom cultivation can be taken up by the farmers throughout the year and farmers can earn good profit from this enterprise. Agricultural scientists through their constant and committed efforts have developed such strains of mushrooms which can be grown throughout the year under varied temperature and climatic conditions. Different mushroom species includes Button mushroom, Oyster, Milky and Paddy straw mushroom which can be grown successfully by the farmers on different agri-based residues such as wheat straw, paddy straw, sugarcane baggase, dried vegetable leaves, sawdust etc. In Jammu and Kashmir, of these mushrooms button mushroom is most popular one. Most of these agro-residues are either readily available on farmer’s field or can be easily arranged from nearby fields. Button mushroom cultivation is more prevalent in North India whereas Dhingri and paddy straw mushroom in coastal India. Mushroom cultivation can be carried out indoor in any room, shed, basement, garage, etc. having proper ventilation facilities.Technical information regarding mushroom cultivation can be obtained by the interested farmers from field functionaries of Department of Agriculture, nearby Agricultural University, KrishiVigyan Kendra or even from any agribased NGOs. Moreover DD kissan channel which is now a round the clock channel broadcasting agricultural programmes exclusively for farming community also many a times broadcast programme on mushroom cultivation. The detailed information can also be taken from the website of Directorate of Mushroom Research, Solan. The scientists of Directorate of Mushroom Research (DMR) have also developed an App. on mushroom cultivation which can be easily downloaded on any smart phone and farmers can have the latest information on the relevant technologies of mushroom cultivation.
Role of field extension functionaries regarding mushroom cultivation is very crucial because they have the responsibility to convince and motivate farmers to adopt mushroom cultivation as an enterprise. Concerned agencies should conduct exposure visits of the interested farmers to successful mushroom growers units, so that they can be motivated easily to adopt the mushroom cultivation and also the principle of “seeing is believing” has strong appeal to the farming community. Agricultural economists have worked out the cost benefit analysis of mushroom cultivation which is reported to be 1:2 in cultivation of button mushroom and for dhingri mushroom it is even higher. No doubt, this margin of profit is much higher than other conventional crops or vegetables.
Mushroom cultivation is a good source of livelihood earning for the rural youth and government at both central and state levels have initiated different programmes providing financial assistance for starting different agribased enterprises including mushroom cultivation. Moreover mushroom cultivation is a whole family enterprise in which both male as well as female members including children can contribute at different stages of mushroom cultivation. By proper planning, farmers need to devote very less time for mushroom cultivation and can earn handsome profit. Marketing of mushroom is not a major problem and it can be sold easily in the nearby markets or even directly to the consumers. Value added products of mushrooms like pickles, nuggets, biscuits can also be prepared by the growers during gut season which further adds to the margin of profit. The sale of mushrooms in local markets provides an additional income source to farmers and strengthens the food security of the most vulnerable rural households. This is even more evident in dry seasons when lack of water challenges the production of other crops.
Among rural households of Jammu division, SKUAST-Jammu is promoting mushroom cultivation especially among small scale farmers through the recently established Mushroom Research & Training centre at Division of Plant Pathology. The Division has also taken up the job of providing quality spawn of different mushrooms to the mushroom growers. Regular training programmes are being conducted for un-employed youths on mushroom cultivation and spawn production so as to motivate them to take up mushroom cultivation and spawn production as an enterprise. Thus, mushroom cultivation can play a decisive role in doubling the farm income in near future and this demands a planned approach from policy planners, implementing agencies and field extension functionaries.
(The authors are from Division of Plant Pathology, SKUAST-Jammu)
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