Russian looks to grow shiitake mushrooms in the Far East
In an Interview with RIA Novosti, Artem discussed the various characteristics of Asian Shiitake mushrooms and other business opportunities this project creates. In Russia's Far East it can be found growing on Mongolian oak and Amur linden trees. The mushroom is said to possess a number of health benefits.
This was all made possible due to a program the Russian government introduced back in June 2016 which would offer Russian citizens a free hectare of land in the Russian Far East if they used it for some sort of legal economic activity.
Artem Degtyarev said that he became interested in the program as soon as he heard about it.
“Soon after the implementation of the law on the Far Eastern hectare began, my partners and I came up with the idea of growing shiitake there. I made a presentation of my project, took part in the contest and won in one of the categories,” Degtyarev said.
“Primorie is the only region in Russia where shiitake can grow outdoors in the wild,” Degtyarev stressed. “That is the only place where a big and productive mushroom farm can be built without large investments.”
The high humidity of Russian Far Eastern woods makes growing conditions for shiitake highly favorable and with over 2 Million Russians planning to lay claim to the free hectare of land in the Far East Russia's mushroom production could grow exponentially.
Degtyarev plans to sell shiitake both as a food and as a pharmaceutical product and since winning the contest has had multiple businessmen from Asia who were interested in his plan. According to preliminary calculations, Degtyarev’s project will start to pay off in 4 years after reapplying for the program come February.
source: sputniknews.com
