Mushroom farming has begun in Narail for the first time. Asit Basu, a farmer in Alokdia village of Shahabad union in the Sadar upazila, has succeeded with mushroom cultivation. He started with just 50 spawn packets and now has 700 on his farm. His oyster mushrooms yield 4-5kg a day, and he sells 100kg a month, earning Tk 25,000-30,000.

Asit Basu sells his mushrooms both online and offline. After training from the Department of Agricultural Extension, he started growing mushrooms in a corner of his own house, and has named the farm Asit Mushroom Palli Centre. When the white mushrooms push up out of the polythene-wrapped packets, it is clear the hard work has paid off.

At his house, white mushrooms were seen emerging from polythene-wrapped packets in a semi-pucca tin-roofed room, and he was busy tending them. His wife and son help with the farm work.

Asit Basu said: "I come from a farming family. With help from the agriculture office I took 10 days of training in Dhaka. The agriculture office then gave me growing materials, a room, and even a van to make mushroom chops and sell them in the market. At a month-long youth fair I sold 12 to 12.5 maunds of mushroom chops for Tk 2 to 2.5 lakh, and earned Tk 1 to 1.5 lakh."

His success is inspiring others. Because the returns are high for little cost, 30 more small entrepreneurs in the area have taken up mushroom farming. Many locals visit the farm daily to learn how to grow mushrooms and will soon start growing them. Straw, sawdust, wheat bran, calcium lime and water are mixed to create a suitable medium, which is then sterilised and kept in a lab. After 28 days the mother tissue is ready, and from it the tasty, nutritious mushrooms grow.

Narail Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer Md Roknuzzaman said: "He got a practical understanding of mushroom farming in training and started growing mushrooms accordingly. He is supplying the mushrooms he produces to consumers of all kinds. Following his example, many farmers in the area are becoming interested in mushroom farming."

He said: "People can benefit by growing mushrooms at low cost on unused land around their homes. There are 30 more small entrepreneurs with him, who have taken two days of training. If they work together, the area could emerge as a mushroom village."

He added: "The upazila agriculture office is always giving them technical support. Mushroom is a nutritious superfood known widely around the world. We want to use its nutrition to succeed in improving family nutrition."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.