The story of a jobless youth becoming an entrepreneur in Jashore

Foysal Ahmed, a 26-year-old villager, was happy to share his success story in farming mushrooms and earn handsomely.

In the two years since the youth from a low-income family took to mushroom farming he earned Tk. 1.5 lakh in profit from an investment of Tk. 3 lakh.

“Mushroom is a profitable business and I’m earning well. From spawn to harvest, it needs only 25-30 days and that continues for three months,” said the youth From Darajhat village in Bagharpara upazila of Jashore district.

Foysal, an Imam of Chatiantala Dakhil Madrasha, was so determined to change his fate that he sold his mobile phone and a goat to collect capital for starting the cultivation in his own backyard.

He resorted to YouTube to know about the cultivation process. At first he made 1000 beds of mushrooms in 2020 and got a profit of Tk 20,000 which made him enthusiastic in continuing the business. Mushrooms are edible fungus and eaten as vegetable.

Mushrooms contain protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. These can have various health benefits. Mushrooms are getting more popular in Bangladesh due to its taste and rich nutrients. Faysol also took a three-day training from Magura Mushroom Dream Centre on the techniques of mushroom cultivation.

Now he has built two small houses in the yard where he grows mushrooms on 1500 beds. He has a target to produce 2000 kgs of mushroom from it.

Besides, he also started cultivating mushroom seeds so that he can save some money.

“I collect 10-12 kgs of mushrooms every day in the current batch and if the situation remains favourable, I can collect 40-50 kgs of mushrooms within a few days. But I only spent Tk 70,000 in this batch ,” he added.

“Each kgs of mushroom is being sold at Tk 250-300 at the local market and from the beginning, I have managed to produce five batches of mushrooms in my yard and I got a profit of Tk 30-35 thousand from each batch, ‘’ said Foysal.

Using his contacts, Foysal managed to supply his mushrooms in the super shops in Jashore. Besides, he also sold his mushrooms to Rajshahi and Dhaka.

If some mushrooms remain unsold, he keeps them under the sun and produces dry mushrooms which are being sold at Tk 1200 per kg.

“I did not need any worker to assist me but my mother and wife helped me alongside their household work,” he said.

Foysal also expressed his wish to establish a laboratory to do research on spawning of mushrooms to ensure its quality. He also said he is always ready to teach the unemployed youths in his area if the government extends necessary assistance.

Bagharpara agriculture officer Ruhul Amin, said “We are taking information from the mushroom farms of Foysal and all technical advice is being provided to him.”