GUWAHATI, March 30 � �The North East has the biggest potential in the country to produce edible mushroom due to its moisture-rich conducive climate. If properly channalized and marketed, it can change the fate of local farmers, landless poor and women.�
Buoyed at the gradual thrust on mushroom production shown by the farmers of the State in parts of the region, RP Tiwari, former director of the Directorate of Mushroom Research (ICAR), Solan, Himachal Pradesh told the media here that farmers of the State should be encouraged to take up large-scale mushroom production.
During his recent visit to the NE region, Dr Tiwari went to Nagaland, Arunachal and Meghalaya and parts of the State like Sonapur, Makum, Jorhat, etc., where he met the mushroom farmers, technocrats, scientists and officials working in this field.
The trip was organized by the Mushroom Development Foundation and Rural Technology Action Group (RuTAG) of IIT, Guwahati, to acquire better knowledge of the present scenario and the future potential of mushroom cultivation in the State.
�Farmers, particularly women, are earning nicely by cultivating edible fungi in Bangladesh, Rajasthan and Punjab. Blessed with favourable geo-climatic conditions, the northeastern farmers can also earn well, contributing to the overall mushroom production of the country,� he mentioned.
Releasing the wall poster of the MDF, prepared by the farmers of Sonapur to promote mushroom cultivation among them, he lauded the efforts of the foundation towards organizing the cluster of farmers in Sonapur, Khonoma and Mizoma of Nagaland and Barekuri and Raidang of Tinsukia district.
�The climatic conditions of the North East are varied and agro-waste like paddy straw is also available in abundance. Moreover, almost 36 per cent of the State population is below poverty line, which is an ideal condition for mushroom production,� said Pranjal Baruah of the MDF.
There are different varieties of mushrooms suited for the temperate (Button and Shiitake mushrooms), sub-tropical (Oyster and Wood Ear mushrooms) and tropical (Milky and Paddy Straw mushrooms) areas. �If one small farmer is producing mushroom in an 18x13 feet size growing hut, he can approximately earn Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per month,� he said. AK Goswami and SK Kakoti of RuTAG also stressed the need for making the farmers aware about mushroom cultivation in the State.
