In Valley, admn roots for mushroom farming

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, January 13

The state government proposes to establish centres equipped with scientific technology to boost mushroom cultivation in Kashmir.

Officials say the government intends to involve maximum households in the cultivation of mushroom as it involves the least use of land.

The government intended to boost mushroom cultivation in the Valley for which centres were to be established in all the 10 districts of Kashmir, said Abhinash Chander Peer, project coordinator, Mushroom Kashmir.

Started in 1964 in the Kashmir valley, the mushroom cultivation holds a great potential due to favourable agro-climatic conditions and easy availability of raw material like paddy and poultry manure, he said.

However, after Kashmir’s lone mushroom centre in Budgam was gutted in a fire in the 1990s, the mushroom production was adversely hit.

“We tried a lot to revive the production of mushroom post-90s but due to the lack of funds and support, it became difficult,” said officials.

Peer said the government in November 2017 established a new Integrated Mushroom Development Centre at Srinagar where spawned pasteurised compost is prepared and distributed among the mushroom centres in rural areas.

Last year, the government had distributed 1,510 spawned pasteurised compost bags among the district offices for production of mushroom in rural areas.

Officials say each bag of compost produces approximately 2 kg of mushroom. “We have started at a smaller level but in next few years, we will be leaders in the production of mushroom in India,” Peer said. He said two projects funded by Dutch and World Bank were launched in Kashmir in 1984 and 1989, respectively, for promotion and cultivation of mushroom but due to the situation in the Valley, they could not achieve desired results.