The legend has it that the flavour of mushrooms intrigued the pharaohs of Egypt so much that they pronounced that mushrooms were food for the royals and no commoner could ever touch it.
Many civilisations believed that mushrooms had properties that could produce super-human strength, help in finding lost objects and lead the soul to the realm of the gods. It’s dubbed as the plant of immortality? At least that’s what ancient Egyptians believed, according to the hieroglyphics 4,600 years ago.
Centuries later, this tiny edible white button-like plant is transforming lives of people, many on the margins, in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana to prosperity. The cultivation offers them a durable source of income, beyond just immortality and super-human strength.
Meet 47-year-old avant-garde Tarun Attri. The hill state of Himachal Pradesh has given him a vision to realise his dream to foray into mushroom cultivation. His fascination for mushrooms and yearning to be a cultivator brought him to Solan in Himachal Pradesh, which has officially been declared the “Mushroom City of India”. After elaborate training sessions by experts at the prestigious National Research Centre for Mushroom (NRCM), Solan, Tarun has forayed into the business of mushrooms-- not anywhere close, but faraway in beach paradise Goa.
Talking to Deccan Herald, Tarun said: “I have set up cropping zones in Goa where mushroom cultivation has started under controlled atmospheric conditions. There is a huge demand-and-supply gap when it comes to mushroom production in India. We hope consumers of mushroom will benefit from its rare qualities.”
Samlech village in Solan district of HP is a perfect illustration of how mushroom cultivation has brought smiles to the faces of the poor farmers. There are many small and marginal mushroom cultivators who are depending increasingly upon mushrooms to augment their life, both in terms of money and lifestyle. Today, 35-year-old A Chandel earns close to Rs 60,000 every month from mushroom cultivation in Solan. Till a decade ago, Chandel was struggling to make ends meet, working as a labour and then at a food outlet. His life has changed ever since he took to mushroom cultivation.
The village and other adjoining areas present a picture of prosperity. Almost all houses are finely built and many of these families have more than one vehicle to flaunt. Their income from mushroom cultivation has mushroomed over the years, something they would never mind. Some progressive farmers earn up to Rs 20 lakh per annum from this cultivation.
Echoing sentiments of the villagers, local resident and former professor at the Horticulture University in Nauni in Solan, Brij Bhushan Kaushal, told Deccan Herald that with fewer jobs in the hill state, villagers used to while away time playing cards or sitting idle in the chaupals.
All this has changed and there’s a new vigour with which the practice of growing and selling mushrooms is being followed.The place has an inherent advantage. Solan houses the NRCM which not only provides quality seeds to farmers but also deeply involved in educating and training progressive cultivators, the likes of Tarun Attri, on various aspects of mushroom farming.
Talking to Deccan Herald, Sunil Verma, the assistant Chief Technical Officer (Farms) at the NRCM, said mushroom farming has changed the outlook of farmers towards farming. It’s one cultivation that assures them a handsome stream of income with low-input cost. “In fact, Haryana has outdone HP when it comes to mushroom cultivation. Small and marginal farmers in Haryana are stories of success,” Verma said.
The era of commercial cultivation of mushroom in hill state HP and Haryana offered a major fillip to those involved with the business. Vikas Benal of Solan is a trendsetter and has carved out a niche for himself, leading the way in commercial farming of mushrooms. Benal inspires villagers in Samlech to take to mushroom cultivation. His debut as a mushroom grower dates back to 25 years ago.
Today, he commands a business with an annual turnover of Rs 4 crore. He provides farmers with ready compost and markets their mushroom produce as well. Vinod Thakur of Chambhagath in HP also lives with a name in mushroom farming.
So does Sandeep Singh of Siswala village in Hisar and Harpal Singh Bajwa of Kurukshetra in Haryana. All have received government honour for their contribution. Many like them continue to inspire those on the margins but willing to make a mark in mushroom farming.
India produces about 600 million tonnes of agricultural byproducts, which can profitably be utilised for the cultivation of mushrooms. Currently, only 0.04 per cent of these residues are being used for producing around 1.2 lakh tonnes of mushrooms of which 85 per cent is of the button mushroom variety. India contributes about 3 per cent of the total world button mushroom production. Even if 1 per cent of the residues for mushroom production is used, India can produce 3.0 million tonnes of mushrooms, which will be almost equal to current global button mushroom production.
The NRCM at Solan has contributed greatly. They have been organising mushroom melas since 1997 to promote mushroom farming and more. People from across the country now participate in this annual event. The mushroom mela is held each year on September 10, the day on which Solan was declared as “Mushroom City of India”.
The NRCM official hopes they would one day surpass China. But that’s a far cry, at least for now. China that was producing just 60,000 tonness of mushrooms in 1978 is now producing around 18 million tonness of mushrooms, contributing almost 70 per cent of the total world mushroom production.
Published 18 April 2015, 17:44 IST