Project taken to farm export-quality mushrooms

The government wants to expand mushroom farming by using modern technologies to produce high-quality versions of the fruit bodies that can be exported.

The agriculture ministry has undertaken a project titled “Nutrition development and poverty reduction through expansion of mushroom cultivation” in this regard.

The project had been sent to the Planning Commission for the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council’s (ECNEC) approval, a senior official of the planning ministry told The Business Post.

The project’s cost is estimated at Tk 98 crore, which will come from the government exchequer. The Department of Agricultural Extension will implement it by June 2027.

“If the project is implemented, it will be possible to collect and preserve the germplasm of improved varieties of mushrooms in the country and expand farming at the farmers’ level,” said Md Foyzul Islam, chief of Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Institutions Division of the Planning Commission.

Besides, the production and consumption of high-quality mushrooms and mushroom products would increase in the country and opportunities would be created to export the mushrooms produced using modern technologies, he also said.

The project aims to further develop 20 modern and sustainable imported technologies while 25 germplasm of different types of mushrooms in the country will be collected.

It also aims to produce high-quality mushrooms and mushroom products, create 800 mushroom entrepreneurs, and build the capacity of mushroom development institutes.

According to the project proposal, mushrooms are nutritious, delicious, and medicinal food requiring no land for cultivation. A large amount of mushrooms can be produced with little capital on a small amount of unproductive land.

The climate of the country is suitable for mushroom cultivation throughout the year. Apart from this, there is sufficient demand for mushrooms from hotels, restaurants, and high-class people, the proposal also said.

According to the Mushroom Development Institute data, it has so far brought 162 varieties of edible mushrooms from different parts of the globe and also developed technologies suitable for cultivating those in the country.

Besides, it has collected 140 varieties of local mushrooms from hills and forests. Currently, the country’s annual mushroom production is 40,000 tonnes.