Rajib Ahmed, a young man from Gejurbagh in Shubhadya union of South Keraniganj, on the edge of Dhaka, has turned a mushroom venture begun with Tk 36 of capital into a commercial farm. He now earns more than Tk 50,000 a month from it and has left unemployment behind.

Drawn in by mushroom-growing videos on YouTube, Rajib took training at the National Mushroom Development Institute in Savar and began growing experimentally at home with just two spawn packets. As his skill and output grew he started making his own spawn packets from sawdust, straw and seed; the farm now holds more than 4,000 of them.

His mushrooms sell at Tk 300 a kilogram wholesale and Tk 450 retail, going to the local market and to individual buyers. The roughly Tk 50,000 a month this brings has put his household on a sound footing.

His success has drawn other young people in the area to mushroom farming: some visit the farm, others come for advice. Rajib said few took the idea seriously at first, but patient work is now paying off — regular daily care is what gives good yields — and he plans to expand the farm.

Keraniganj upazila agriculture officer Mahua Sharmin Munmun said mushrooms are a highly nutritious food that can be grown profitably in a small space with little capital, and that the agriculture department is advising and supporting growers in the sector. The report is by Krishi Shomoy's Keraniganj correspondent.

Source: Krishi Shomoy