Reaping rich harvest with mushrooms

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 11

Daljit Singh, a farmer from Kasel village in Tarn Taran district, has become an inspiration for others by breaking away from the wheat-paddy cycle. He has set up a commercially successful mushroom farm. Besides, he has also found a way to use crop residue generated in his fields. Daljit is mixing crop residue with soil to cultivate mushrooms. He says he had started growing mushrooms in 1999 in a shed measuring 70 ft by 20 ft.

Presently, he is growing mushrooms in 10 such sheds. He says small farmers can cultivate mushrooms to supplement their income as a shed requires very less area as compared to conventional crops. He says he had taken formal training from Khalsa College. He claims that presently, he is selling mushrooms worth Rs 13-14 lakh and earning a profit of around Rs 7-8 lakh.

Daljit has also provided employment to at least eight persons at his mushroom farm. "The farmers keen on supplementing their income by doing a little extra, should start mushroom cultivation on a small scale. They can upgrade to higher levels after getting knowledge about the technicalities involved in growing mushrooms," he says.