Parbat. Savitri Khatri of Jaljala Rural Municipality-8 has succeeded in earning a good income from commercial mushroom farming. Khatri, who has been active in commercial agriculture for the past 11 years, has started earning more than Rs. 1.2 million annually from mushroom and vegetable farming, believing that she can do something in her village through agriculture.
Khatri, a leading farmer, says that she produces virgin and cowpea mushrooms in four dome tunnels and consumes them in the neighboring districts of Baglung, Myagdi and Parbat at the Kushma market. She said that this year she earned more than Rs. 700,000 from mushrooms alone. ‘I am satisfied with the income from mushroom farming, there is no problem in selling the produced mushrooms,’ said farmer Khatri.
She used to sell gobre mushrooms for Rs 500 per kg and kanye for Rs 200. She said that this year she earned Rs 500,000 from gobre mushrooms and Rs 200,000 from kanye mushrooms. Farmer Khatri, who also prepares raw materials and ingredients, sells other vegetables produced on seven ropanis of land for Rs 500,000.
She said that apart from mushrooms, she has been producing vegetables such as cucumber, ghirauala, bodi, beans, bitter gourd, eggplant, chilli, coriander, and carrots according to the season. She said that since it is close to the headquarters of all three districts and is close to the Maldhunga-Beni road under the Kaligandaki corridor, there is no problem in marketing the produced mushrooms and vegetables.
Khatri has started mushroom cultivation all year round by adding a high-tech tunnel this year. She said that mushrooms will be produced in both winter and summer in the air-conditioned tunnel. She said that now there will be continuous income from mushroom cultivation.
Khatri, who is socially and politically active, has been expanding mushroom cultivation as it gives good yields and requires less labor. Her husband, Bhim Bahadur KC, who has returned from foreign employment, is helping in the production and marketing of mushrooms and other vegetables.
She says that now, apart from the couple, she is also looking for wage laborers from time to time to grow vegetables. Khatri said that since it does not require a lot of space or time to grow and it is easy to sell, her husband has started helping her without going abroad.
Khatri has the experience that if you work hard, you can earn the money your husband earns abroad by working hard here. Khatri has been able to send her daughter abroad for higher education with the income she earns from mushroom farming and has also sent her son to a private school.
Apart from this, she said that she has been able to save in the bank. She said that her experience has shown that if you work hard and diligently, you do not have to go abroad to earn money. Rural Municipality Chairman Rajuprasad Acharya said that recently, the attraction of farmers to engage in commercial activities in the rural municipality has increased.
‘The rural municipality is also encouraging it, and in the coming days, we will even increase subsidies for mushroom farming,’ said Acharya. Mushrooms are a versatile food item. Mushrooms contain all the protein elements found in vegetables and meat and are easily digestible, making them very useful for children and the elderly.
Mushrooms are considered very important because they contain 90 percent water. Mushrooms prevent diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
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