A lot of Nigerians actually see Mushroom
farming like an arduous and tiresome venture. Nigeria produces 300 tonnes of Mushrooms
per year against a demand of 1200 tonnes according to official statistics from
the National Farmers Information Service (NAFIS). If you look at the production rate it simply
means that buyers like homes and hotels have to import from elsewhere as local
farmers cannot really sustain the demand, this is really a lucrative business
opportunity you can invest in.
Furthermore, mushrooms can grow in
almost every part in Nigeria provided there is shelter, a reliable water supply
and also a stable temperature that is in the range of 15 to 30 degrees. Below are
the steps on how to start mushrooms farming in Nigeria;
1. Acquire a land: The first step is to
acquire a land. From my little experience an 1/8 th acre piece of land would be
sufficient to set up a large farm that can produce as much as 2 tonnes of
mushrooms after every two months (using shelf-frame method).
2.
Construct a simple house: Once you
have acquired a good piece of land, what you have to do is to build a simple
mud-house and a few wooden shelves to utilize the vertical space available. You
can look for a carpenter around you to help you with this. Just make sure the
house is well aerated to allow proper circulation of air.
3.
You need to look for the substrate:
One of the most important supplies you will need is the substrate. Actually substrate
is basically the substance on which mushrooms grow. This can be Farm or timber
waste like rice bran, sawdust, lime, wheat bran etc. Try and make sure this is
sterilized as the slightest bacterial infection can really ruin your entire mushroom
farm. As at the time of writing this article a bag of sawdust costs #50 and you
will need about 50 bags.
4.
You need to invest in nylon bags: Actually
you will really need small bags to prepare the seedlings and also big bags for
the final planting. The small bags you will need are like the ones shopkeepers
use to package 2KG sugar that normally cost about #100 for 200 pieces. While
the bigger bags will cost as much as #30 per piece and you will need about 1000
of them in a plot of farm.
5.
You need to invest in good hygiene:
Without been told good hygiene is important in a mushroom farm. You need to
purchase things like hand gloves, methylated spirit and cotton wool. As at the
time of writing this article a box full of gloves costs less than #1,500, same
for cotton wool and methylated spirit. Some other things you will need are drinking
straws which cost about #1,000 and a knapsack sprayer which cost about #6,500.
6.
Purchase the seeds: To start mushroom
farming you need some mushroom seedlings also known as spawns. One of the most
popular spawns is called button spawns. You can buy these from FIIRO or DILOMAT.
As at the time of writing this post a Kilogram of oyster spawns costs about #2,000.
About 5 Kilograms will be sufficient to get you started. Some other varieties
of mushrooms you can plant are shiitake and button.
Conclusion
Venturing into mushroom farming in
Nigeria is quite cumbersome and labour intensive, but is very profitable. All
you actually need to do is to put some effort combine it with what you have learned
from this article.
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