Almost 70 grams of mushroom spawns can produce up to 1kg of mushrooms
LAHORE: Around 50% of edible mushrooms are said to be “functional food “as they have many other health advantages other than basic nutrition. Almost 100,000 tons of mushrooms are consumed worldwide in a year. Pakistan exported around 201,000kgs of mushroom with a total export price of $12.930 million in 2016. Only 3% of mushrooms are cultivated in Pakistan and the rest is imported.
Mushrooms can be grown on a small scale just by using their spawns/seeds and cheap raw and easily available material like dried hay, wood chips and nutrient rich soil. Pakistan is one of the blessed states to have suitable weather conditions to grow mushrooms. People living in rural areas can easily cultivate it to earn a big source of income. Almost 70 grams of mushroom spawns can produce up to 1kg of mushrooms and 1 kg of mushrooms are sold for almost Rs1,000. It is advised that people and the government look into this initiative as it could be profitable.
Huda Larayb
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2019.
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