Mushroom farming is bankable

An excerpt from an article written by Arinze Onebunne of Jovana Farms

Mushroom farming is my passion; it connects me to my childhood. When I was young, I hunted mushroom as a source of protein for the family. Now I have turned that passion into a commercial enterprise. Nowadays, I cultivate mushroom in my backyard for profit. Beginning with few mushroom spawns, I’m using organic methods to produce mushroom for individuals and hotels. The farm has for sale large quantities of Mushroom seeds, fresh/dried mushroom ready for consumption, spraying equipment for mushroom cultivation, pure oyster shell and lime, polythene sheets, treated sawdust, sterilised compost and inoculated mushroom bags for farmers, etc.

Many opportunities abound in the production of mushrooms as many hospitality industries in the country still import the product to add to their meals. Majority of big hotels in Nigeria have mushrooms in their daily menu, but this mushroom came from abroad; this means local production will have a ready market. The technology for the cultivation of mushroom species could be easily adopted by individuals, co-operative societies, families, farmers, schools in the rural and urban centres without difficulties. The cultivation of the mushroom can be done all year round as sources of the mushrooms are from agricultural wastes which are always available in abundance in Nigeria.

Nigeria is a good place for mushroom business as the climate is perfect for its cultivation and it can be grown all year round, creating employment, healthy living and wealth for the farmers. The challenge however is that while it’s doing well in many parts of the country, people are shying away from the fungi because they lack the materials and information they need.

Another major challenge in mushroom farming is getting the right spawn at the right time, and this opens up a golden opportunity for technically based company like us to fill this gap. We do not only provide everything to do with mushroom production, we also teach farmers how to run a profitable mushroom enterprise.

This is a huge improvement over traditional small-scale vegetable farming, which is inefficient and unsustainable in the long run. Besides growing mushrooms, we have embarked on nationwide seminars on profitable mushroom farming to get more Nigerians involved in this lucrative business. The seminar is a platform for sharing knowledge with intending and old farmers to help them upgrade farming methods and grow.

Those who cannot attend our seminars can order for the self-tutorial VCD & book, and train themselves. The primary objective is to bring this golden opportunity to the doorstep of every Nigerian as a very sure and potent means of conquering poverty.

There is a growing demand  for mushroom, and this  has created  a vista of opportunities  for  those  looking  for  where to  invest. Despite its great potential to generate income and to improve nutrition for 180 million Nigerians, the mushroom industry in Nigeria is characterised by low productivity, inefficient supply chains and, above all, difficult access to finance.

Nowadays, health-conscious people are avoiding red meat and this has boosted the mushroom market. Hotels, supermarkets, and a growing number of individuals are buying. So, the mushroom market continues to expand.

The international markets are also relevant. The product can be exported to Brazil, Serbia and other European countries, for both food and pharmaceutical industries. Mushroom is known to be a very good antivirus, and it contains multiple vitamins that strengthen the immune system and helps us live longer.

There are many reasons why banks should be with mushroom producers. First of all, the mushroom demand is hugely unmet; it is growing very rapidly and appears to be one of the markets most worth investing in.

Mushroom is a short period product. You start the harvest within four to five weeks and recover your investment in a short time frame. If you invest N50, 000, you earn up to N100, 000 as a net profit, within a four-cycle period. The great thing about mushroom is that you can grow it everywhere! In your backyard, kitchen, and even in the parking store, even if you are a tenant.

Moreover, a bank will not have to wait too long to recover its money. Any investment can be recouped within three months. As a mushroom farmer, I will not come and tell the bank, “Well listen, it did not rain” because you do not need rain to grow mushroom. I will not tell bank my harvest was fired up because the places we grow mushroom are cool places. Fire does not like a cool place. I will not come to the bank and shout “Listen I don’t have money to buy food for my mushrooms” because mushrooms don’t even need chlorophyll! The risk is very minimal. For all these reasons, banks should support us.