Enhancing Farm Income and Employment Opportunity through Mushroom Cultivation
Shri Jayant Kumar Rout of Bhatpada village in Cuttack district, with a small landholding of 1.18 ha, started growing paddy straw mushroom during kharif season and dhingri mushroom during rabiseason in a small area (375 sq. ft.) in 1998 under the able guidance of the NRRI scientists. This gave him an additional income of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000. Encouraged by the profitability of mushroom cultivation, he expanded it to 3500 sq. ft. area and earned a net profit of Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000. In 2003 and 2004, he further expanded the area under mushroom farming and earned a net profit of Rs 80,000. He was motivated to undergo a training on “Mushroom spawn production” at Bhubaneswar in 2003. Subsequently in 2004, Shri Rout was able to set up a spawn production unit with financial support from the NRRI under a project funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and earned a net profit of Rs 10,000. Now, he is not only producing the spawn for his own requirement but also supplying it to the nearby villages and helping in generating rural employment. He has further expanded the mushroom cultivation and is expected to get a net profit of Rs1,20,000, in addition to Rs 60,000 from selling the spawn. The NRRI recognized Shri Jayant Kumar Rout as a progressive mushroom farmer.