Jammu Tawi, Jan 05: Agricultural diversification is key
to reduce the risk in farming activities and the J&K
Government is constantly employing latest technological
interventions to diversify agriculture sector across
Jammu and Kashmir.
Mushroom cultivation is one important tool in not only
enhancing agricultural income of the farming community
but also securing it against rising changes in climate and
soil resources.
With this in mind, the Government of J&K is
implementing a full-fledged project on ‘Promotion of
Round the Year Mushroom Cultivation' (PRYMC) across
the UT. The project to be implemented at a cost of
around Rs 42 Cr over the next three years by the
Agriculture Production Department of J&K will increase
the production of Mushrooms by 3.5 times and
revolutionise Mushroom Cultivation here. The project will
also increase employment generation by 3 times and
more than 768 new enterprises are also being created in
the process to ensure sustainability of the interventions.
“Mushroom farming generates revenue and helps to
reduce poverty. The production of mushrooms creates a
significant amount of direct and indirect employment
opportunities in the fields of cultivation and marketing,
as well as providing opportunities for processing
businesses and labour-intensive management”, said
Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Production
Department, Atal Dulloo.
He added that Mushroom farming requires little capital,
little technical expertise, and it is even possible to grow
mushrooms indoors on a small scale and easily earn a
high return on investment. He further said that women
can grow mushrooms in their homes with little
investment and as a result, mushroom farming not only
gives rural women more power but also fights poverty at
its source.
‘Promotion of Round the Year Mushroom Cultivation' is
one among the 29 projects, which were approved by the
Jammu and Kashmir administration after being
recommended by the UT Level Apex Committee for
holistic development of Agriculture and Allied Sectors in
UT of J&K. The prestigious committee is headed by Dr
Mangala Rai, Former DG ICAR and has other luminaries
in the field of Agriculture, Planning, Statistics &
Administration like Shri Ashok Dalwai, CEO NRAA, Dr.
P. K Joshi, Secretary, NAAS, Dr. Prabhat Kumar,
Horticulture Commissioner MOA & FW, Dr. H. S Gupta,
Former Director, IARI, Sh. Atal Dulloo IAS, Financial
Commissioner (Addl Chief Secretary) APD apart from
the Vice Chancellors of the twin Agriculture Universities
of the UT.
“Mushroom is an important cottage industry in rural
areas. It leads to economic betterment of small &
marginal farmers, landless laborers, and women. Being
a cash crop it is a good means of generating
employment opportunities for youth of the UT”, said
Director Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Jammu, K.K
Sharma, who is implementing the project in collaboration
with SKUAST.
He added that lack of availability of pasteurized compost
& unorganized market were the major constraints in
mushroom production and this project is going to
address them in a significant way.
Under the project 26 pasteurized compost making units,
10 spawn production labs and 72 controlled conditioned
cropping rooms (2000 bags capacity), will be
established in the span of three years. For the promotion
of mushroom cultivation in non-traditional areas, 1.5 lakh
subsidized pasteurised compost bags will be distributed
among mushroom growers. Women empowerment
through establishment of 300 women Self Help Groups
(WSHGs) will be undertaken.
The project also focuses on value addition of the
perishable commodity through creation of four canning
units and distribution of 60 solar dryers among
mushroom growers. In addition to this, an amount of Rs
2.1 Crs has been earmarked for research and
development. Under this emphasis will also be laid on
promotion of medicinal mushrooms and introduction of
new strains of mushrooms. It will also have specific
emphasis on standardization of locally available
substrates and documentation of conditions for their
optimal growth.
All in all, the mushroom sector in J&K is about to witness
a resurgence in the form of unprecedented institutional
and capital support which will boost production,
productivity as well as export of mushrooms from the
UT.
