Mushroom Spawn Production: Marven of Meghalaya produced mushroom spawn at low cost, became an icon

Mushroom Spawn Production: Raymond completed a seven-day training on ‘Mushroom Spawn Production and Entrepreneurship Development’ under the Farmers First project. He learned the techniques of tissue culture, substrate development and spawn production. Along with this, he also gained practical knowledge of how to produce more at low cost.

Have you ever thought that just one idea can change your life? How would you feel if the difficulties of unemployment take you to new heights of success? Today we are going to introduce you to a person who hails from Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya, who has achieved success in mushroom spawn production on the strength of his determination and hard work. Along with this, he has also given a new identity to his village. This is Raymond B. Marven, who defeated unemployment and stepped towards agri-entrepreneurship and not only made himself self-reliant, but also opened new possibilities for his community.

Raymond B. Where did Marven start from?

Born in a simple family in Umsmu village, Meghalaya, Raymond had extraordinary dreams. Marven has a degree in M. Pharm. But even after this, he was unsure about his career. But a journey changed his life. Raymond went to the ICAR research campus located in Umiam, where he saw an important problem. He saw that there was a huge shortage of good quality mushroom spawn production.

Mushroom farming was a growing business, but the absence of high quality spawn was becoming a big problem for the farmers. In such a situation, Raymond got an idea to solve this problem. He got a new vision.

First step towards realizing the dream

Raymond completed a seven-day training on ‘Mushroom spawn production and entrepreneurship development’ under the Farmers First project. He learned the techniques of tissue culture, substrate development and spawn production. Along with this, he also gained practical knowledge of how to produce more at a lower cost.

Worked on a limited budget

Raymond converted two small rooms into a lab. Instead of expensive equipment, he started working with a pressure cooker and a simple inoculation hood. He started with 500 ml culture media. But his path was not easy. He made 23 mother spawn packets with a success rate of 91.3 percent. After this, he did not look back. He prepared the first batch of 230 commercial spawn packets.

Big success achieved through small steps

Today Marven is preparing 500 commercial spawn packets every week. There is a huge demand for them in the local market. They are sold at the rate of Rs 100 per kilogram. But not only this, along with spawn production, he also started cultivating fresh mushrooms. He also started growing fresh mushrooms for his homestay business.

Low cost, big profits

Raymond made an initial investment of about Rs 90,000 in his business. Today, his monthly income has reached ₹40,000. But Raymond’s dream does not end here. Now he wants to equip his spawn production center with advanced equipment. And his biggest target is to make Umsmu village a hub of mushroom production.

Steps towards village prosperity

Raymond’s success not only made him self-reliant, but also brought about a change in his village. He developed pig farming, fish farming, vermi-composting and vegetable farming as an integrated farming system on his family’s land. And his homestay business has become another successful venture. Now other youth of his village are also looking for opportunities in agriculture and allied sectors.