How did this farmer succeed in milky mushroom farming?

Milky Mushroom Farming: Wakapadu is a small village in Anakapalli district of Andhra Pradesh. Kalapureddy Ganesh ji is a resident of this place. After completing the board exams, Kalapureddy Ganesh thought that he would help his father in farming. But due to lack of much knowledge about farming, he could not get the desired profit.

After this experience, Kalapureddy Ganesh decided that he would do some new work related to farming which could earn good money. So, he watched many videos of farming on YouTube and he felt that there is good potential in mushroom farming. However, he did not get success by starting the work by just watching the videos. After some time, he realized that to be successful in this field, one needs deep knowledge and practical experience. So, he thought of taking training to learn mushroom farming.

Took training for Mushroom Farming

Kalapooreddy Ganesh tried to get the right information about mushroom farming. He found an advertisement for mushroom training under the STRY Program of BCT Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Haripuram. He called and inquired about this training and took a week’s training on “how to grow mushrooms” from 18 to 24 December 2021.

In this training, he learned many things like:

• How to grow mushrooms?
• How to create the right environment for mushrooms?
• How to make more beneficial things from mushrooms?
• How is the mushroom variety milky mushroom cultivated?

Then, he thought of cultivating milky mushrooms.

What is important in the Farming of milky mushroom?

This training taught Kalapureddy Ganesh how important it is to understand the right environmental conditions for milky mushroom cultivation. He also learned how important it is to maintain cleanliness and how to choose the right paddy straw material and mushroom spawn for mushroom cultivation. Along with this, he also gained skills on how to control and maintain the humidity and temperature required for milky mushroom cultivation.

What was taught in the training?

Kalapureddy Ganesh was taught everything about mushrooms in the training. First of all, he was told how mushrooms are grown, what is the science behind it. Then he was told about different types of mushrooms – which are good for eating, which are used for medicine, and which can be dangerous. He was also taught how mushroom farming can be made a good business.

Special attention was given to the cultivation of milky mushrooms. It was explained how to prepare the room for mushrooms, how to choose the place, where to buy the materials, and how to store the mushrooms. How to make mushroom seeds or spawn was also taught. Finally, how to protect mushrooms from diseases and insects was also discussed. This training proved to be very beneficial for Kalapureddy Ganesh.

Milky Mushroom farming changed the life of Kalapureddy Ganesh

This program of STRY (Skill Training of Rural Youth) helped Kalapureddy Ganesh in learning the knowledge and skills of growing mushrooms. This encouraged him to make mushroom farming his main source of income.

After some time, milky mushroom farming changed his life. Kalapureddy Ganesh started his own business, which he named “Mahalakshmi Milky Mushroom”. Now he sells the mushrooms grown by him in events like weddings, small shops and big supermarkets. Earlier Kalapureddy Ganesh used to earn only Rs 1.5 lakh in a year. But after training, just like the crop flourishes when water comes to the field, his income increased to more than Rs 3.5 lakh.

Kalapureddy Ganesh now helps other farmers too

Seeing the success of Kalapureddy Ganesh, the nearby farmers and shopkeepers also got excited. They often came to Kalapureddy Ganesh and learned new methods of mushroom cultivation. Kalapureddy shared his knowledge with more than 25 farmers and shopkeepers of his area. Just as many lamps are lit from one lamp, similarly the knowledge of Kalapureddy Ganesh kept spreading. Now he also participates actively in the programs of BCT, KVK. So that he can also help new people in mushroom farming.