Md Hasib lives in Tingaon, Bandar upazila, Narayanganj. Success long eluded him until, on a friend's advice, he turned to mushroom farming, and that is where it came. He grows mushrooms with his family and earns Tk 7-8 lakh by the end of the year. He wants to turn the venture into an industry and create jobs for others.

The road was not smooth. Wanting to work independently, he took up driving, but he could not give time to his family and always had to work under someone else. He then drove an auto-rickshaw in his own area, but that did not satisfy him either; he did not want his children to grow up as an auto-rickshaw driver's children. To stand on his own feet he tried farming quails, ducks and pigeons, then vegetables, but none of it worked.

In early 2020, on a friend's advice, he began growing mushrooms and never looked back. Through hard work and strong self-belief he saw a profit within about a year. He now grows mushrooms on a large scale, feeding his family and selling commercially.

Hasib has no land of his own. He lives with his wife and two children in a rented two-room tin-shed house. The family lives in one room; the other he has turned into a laboratory where he produces mushroom spawn. Two rooms are used for growing mushrooms.

Md Hasib said he buys spawn from the Mushroom Development Institute in Savar, and that mushroom farming can earn twice what it costs. His farm produces 200-250 kg of mushrooms a month, which he sells for Tk 200-250 a kg wholesale and Tk 300-400 retail. Prices vary by season: output is higher in winter, so mushrooms sell for less then. His annual income from mushrooms is about Tk 7-8 lakh, and his wife and children help him.

On his plans, Hasib said: "In future I'll grow mushrooms on a bigger scale and work with different varieties. I want to take mushrooms to an industrial level. I hope the government will come forward to help make my dream come true."

His wife Sadia Akter said: "I really enjoy growing mushrooms. I learned from my husband and I help him. At first we bought spawn; now we produce it ourselves. We've made mushrooms part of our own diet and encourage others to do the same. It's very good for health."

Bandar upazila agriculture officer Taslima Akter said: "A training was held under a project at the mushroom development centre in Savar, where Mr Hasib received 15 days of residential training. So far he has been given Tk 2 lakh 95 thousand in financial grants. We built two houses for him to grow mushrooms. He has been given whatever an entrepreneur needs."

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