Emerging Mushroom Farming In A’Ibom State

By UbongAbasi Ise

Akwa Ibom is home to variety of delicacies, and one uncommon item of food that could adapt very well to the taste of various local dishes is mushroom.  Whether okra soup,  atama soup, afia efere, edikang ikong, afang, editan, melon soup, pepper soup, yam porridge, ekpang or source, edible mushrooms could be prepared in such a way that brings a savory meal experience to diners. Apart from having food value, mushroom also has medicinal value. Experts say that some of its species are enriched in protein, unsaturated and saturated fat; and they contain vitamin D, niacin as well as minerals such as iron potassium and selerium.

            One of the important values of mushroom is that it could be best used for weight watch and also used in the control of cholesterol. It has the capacity to diminish harmful toxins especially hydrocarbon that is present in the air.

But the concern is that mushrooms are rare to find today. This is because they are mostly found in the wild, and there is relatively lack of experience in growing this kind of fungus in Akwa Ibom State.

Speaking with The Sensor, Mr. Dennis Eton, the Chairman of Akwa Ibom State Chapter of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN, said that in Akwa Ibom, the demand for mushroom is high but the production is low while maintaining that there is potential market for mushroom but unfortunately the production and supply are minimal owing to lack of people’s interest in going into mushroom farming.

Mr. Eton, whose association has initiated a training scheme for the farmers in mushroom production, revealed that so far, 20 farmers have been trained in mushroom farming in the state adding that in the next five years in Akwa Ibom, mushroom would be replacing most of the food that contains cholesterol.

 The AFAN Chairman went on to say that mushroom production can be highly profitable because 1kg of mushroom can go for N3,000, and as well a standard mushroom farm could produce 10 kg of mushroom per harvest. He noted that it takes two weeks to cultivate and harvest mushroom for sales and consumption, and would subsequently take about 3 days after the first harvest.

Mr. Eton said that if a farmer has what it takes to float a standard mushroom farm, their earnings may not end at the local market but foreign market because the demand is higher than the supply.

The chief farmer pointed out that the basic challenge in mushroom production is the initial funds to establish a standard farm which would eventually incorporate facilities for the processing, preservation and for the next market.

To ease the burden of mushroom production, Eton said that there is the need for investors to come into the sector and inject funds because with adequate funding, farmers can set up cool rooms, purchase refrigerators and carbinet dryers because all these are capital assets.

The chairman maintained that if mushroom production is strongly supported in the state, mushroom farms would have created a lot of jobs for the people because it is a lucrative business asserting that most of the white-collar jobs cannot be compared to the gains of being a mushroom farmer.

While our correspondent was observing the process of mushroom cultivation at AFAN’s laboratory in Uyo, the chairman said that in the scientific production of edible specie called oyster mushroom (pleurotus pulmonaricus), farmers need mushroom spawn, sawdust, rice bran, sorghum bran, palm kernel cake, brewers waste, and they also need to produce sudstrat with plantain or banana leaves added to it in order to produce something akin to deadwood. After sudstrat production, limes are added to perfect it after which it would pass through pasteurization, incubation and fruiting.

Mr. Dennis Eton warned that mushroom spawn must come f

rom a certified body. He said that presently farmers in the state are obtaining their spawns from Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) in Lagos.

He called on the state government to partner with Akwa Ibom State University and the University of Uyo to establish a standard microbiology laboratory for the production of mushroom spawns.

Culled from The Sensor Newspaper Agric Suite