Zubayer Ahmed, a university graduate, started cultivating mushroom at his village in Keraniganj two years ago, leaving behind the lures of lucrative jobs as he wanted to do something independently.
And it was an immediate success, with a monthly profit averaging about Tk1 lakh.
All what he needed to start the venture was small capital and a short training from the National Mushroom Development and Extension Centre (NAMDEC).
“I joined a job after completing my graduation. But I was always passionate about doing business,” said Zubayer.
"I found mushroom cultivation as having a lot of business potential," he said and added that through mushroom farming he was able to generate employment for others as well.
"It is an independent business and one can start off with a small investment on a small piece of land," he said.
Like Zubayer, many educated youths, including women, are now coming to mushroom farming because of its high profitability.
Saiful Islam Chowdhury, owner of Khidmah Mushroom Centre in Cumilla, has been in his family business of mushroom since when he was in his early age.
Getting no suitable job after graduation, he took up mushroom farming as his profession.
"My family was cultivating mushroom on a small scale; later I expanded the business to a great extent," he said.
"Now about 50 people work in my farm on a regular basis and I earn monthly Tk4-5 lakh on an average," he added, informing that he paid the workers Tk5 lakh in wages every month.
An ideal food
"Categorized as a fungus in books and as vegetable in shops and markets, mushroom is an ideal food," said Dr Md Bazlul Karim Chowdhury, associate professor at Colonel Malek Medical College in Manikganj.
It has low carbohydrate and fat but is rich in high protein, minerals, good quality fibres and anti-oxidant, he informed, adding that mushroom can help control diabetes, blood pressure and some other disease, as well.
"The food has no side effect. Moreover, taking the vegetable as regular food item can keep one healthy," Bazlul Karim said.
As no pesticide and fertilizer are needed to grow mushroom, it is more hygienic, he added.
The food item is used as vegetable, salad, spice and cooking ingredient. Hygiene-conscious people and quality hotel-restaurant keep the item on their food menu.
Besides, people consume dried mushroom with different food items.
About 30,000 mushroom farmers
Some 20,000 people are engaged in cultivating mushroom across the country throughout the year, according to the NAMDEC.
Besides, about 10,000 others come to produce the food item in winter when the fungus grows well.
"Most of them are youth and educated," said Nirod Chandra Sarker, director at the NAMDEC.
"As mushroom farming is scientific and technology-based, they get motivation in cultivating the item," he added.
Nirod said that the number of mushroom farmers was increasing day by day also for its high profitability.
According to industry insiders, approximately 90,000-100,000 people are involved in the sector.
Production jumps threefold in 10 years
According to the government data, the annual production of mushroom increased threefold over the last ten years.
It reached 42,000 tons in 2018-19 fiscal from 10,500 tons in 2009-10, a 300% rise, by NAMDEC data.
The production witnessed a 25-30% growth every year on an average, the data showed.
Huge demand, low supply
The demand for the highly nutritious vegetable is increasing day by day but the country cannot cater to the demand, industry insiders say.
Local production can meet about 40-50% of the total demand, while the rest comes from imports, they mention.
Visiting kitchen markets and super shops including Shawpna, Agora, Meena Bazar, a supply crisis was found for the food item.
Most of them had no mushroom product as there was a shortage of supply even in wholesale market.
Executive of Meena Bazaar at Magbazar in the capital Badrul Alam said that the demand for mushroom was on the rise but they did not get sufficient amount of the product.
Talking to different restaurants and hotels, Dhaka Tribune found that most of them availed the item from imports as the local variety was not available in market regularly.
Further potentials
Experts believe that mushroom cultivation has huge potentials.
"It has a lot of potential," said NAMDEC director Nirod. One day, he hopes, it will become a large industry.
The global demand for the food product was high, but people in the country were not conscious enough, he said, adding that the local demand for the product would rise further with increased awareness.
Tk250crore project proposed for the sector
"We have submitted a proposal of Tk250crore project to the government for boosting mushroom farming at union level," Nirod said and hoped the government would consider the project.
"With the project, we will campaign for mushroom farming and build awareness about its hygiene aspects," he added.
Needs private sector investment
Majority of the mushroom farmers still have to depend on government agency, the NAMDEC, for collecting seeds.
But NAMDEC cannot produce adequate seeds to meet demand for lack of fund, officials have said.
"Our fund is so meagre that we cannot produce enough seeds," said Nirod Chandra. "Last fiscal it was Tk1 lakh and this fiscal the government decreased the fund to Tk40,000," he added.
"The government is providing seeds and technical supports for the farmers. But it is far from being enough," he said.
Nirod said that private sector should come forward and invest in the potential sector.
Unconventional way of cultivation
Edible mushroom is cultivated in a scientific and technology-based way as mushroom, which grows naturally, is toxic.
The entire farming is carried out in a space or house where light can be controlled.
Firstly, the seeds are grown in a test-tube. The processed seed is known as spawn which needs development in three to four phases for growing the plant.
Then the plant is sowed on organic-mixture-bed instead of soil in a controlled atmosphere.
It takes around two months to get edible mushroom. Purification has to be maintained in every stage of the entire cultivation process.
Some institutes provide training
NAMDEC with its 16 branches across the country is providing training in mushroom farming free of costs.
Besides, about 10-15 private institutes including Dhaka Agency, Mark Agro Food, Flamingo Agro-Tech Limited offer short-term training courses at nominal cost. Most of the institute are located in the capital Dhaka.
Challenges
Mushroom farmers can get loans at low interest from Bangladesh Krishi Bank and technical supports from government agencies concerned free of cost.
However, the farmers face some challenges as training centres are inadequate while there is a lack of marketing strategy in the country.
Most of the farmers with small farms face difficulties in exporting their products.
Prices
There are seven types of mushroom and their prices vary depending on their verity and quality.
One kilogram of locally grown mushroom sells for Tk250-1,000, while prices of the imported ones range from Tk1,000 to Tk1500 per kg.
