Money
Tunnel farms spreading like mushrooms in Makwanpur
Mushroom production using tunnel technology has been gaining popularity in Makwanpur due to the high yields and earnings it offers.Pratap Bista
Mushroom production using tunnel technology has been gaining popularity in Makwanpur due to the high yields and earnings it offers.
Devi Maya Shrestha of Hetauda-11 has been growing mushrooms using tunnel technology for the last five years. She started with two tunnel farms and now owns 68 tunnel farms where she grows mushrooms.
Shrestha has leased 11 bighas of land at Padam Pokhari and Nawalpur in Hetauda. “I sell 300 to 500 kg of mushrooms daily,” she said. Traders come directly to her farm to buy her products. “I am busy at my farm from morning to evening,” said Shrestha who produces mushrooms round the year using the technology.
Tunnel farms made of a bamboo structure and plastic covering can be found across large swathes here where farmers mostly grow mushrooms. Shrestha earned Rs2 million last year and expects earnings to cross Rs3.5 million this year. She has invested Rs6.8 million in mushroom farming.
Meanwhile, Janak Dutta Ghimire, the plant protection officer at the District Agriculture Office, said that it would cost Rs100,000 to build a tunnel farm 16 feet wide and 32 feet long and buy mushroom bulbs. He added that 350 bulbs could be planted in a tunnel and each bulb could yield 2-3 kg of mushrooms.
There are 40 farmers involved in commercial mushroom farming in Makwanpur. Shrestha said that she had constructed a two-storey house and purchased a vehicle with her earnings. The Agriculture Development Office has been supporting her with technical assistance.
“Shrestha is the only woman entrepreneur in the district who has invested such a lot of money in mushroom farming,” said Nirmal Gadal, chief of the office. “She has brought big changes to her family.” Gadal said that lack of quality mushroom seeds and irregular delivery had been a problem in the district.
Makwanpur produces 2 tonnes of mushrooms daily. The products are supplied to Birgunj, Narayangadh and Pokhara.