Underlining the importance of commercialisation and the introduction of modern technology in mushroom cultivation, Director Agriculture Kashmir Syed Altaf Aijaz Andrabi on Wednesday said mushroom cultivation had tremendous potential for employment creation in the state, an official press note read.
According to the press note, the minister said this while inaugurating the picking and packing of Button Mushroom (Agaricus SPP) at Mushroom the Demonstration-cum-Training Centre (MDTC) at Lalmadi. The Director of Agriculture stressed the need for commercialisation in mushroom cultivation.
The Director stressed that the people concerned should apprise farmers about the benefits of mushroom cultivation. He said that the department was committed to providing assistance to the farming community to help them improve their socio-economic status by providing the latest technical know-how and other guidance, the press note read.
He added that the department was going to organise training programmes on mushroom cultivation for the farmers of Kashmir division. He advised the mushroom entrepreneurs, growers and farmers to learn the technical aspects of mushroom cultivation to increase their income. He highlighted the importance of mushroom cultivation as an allied wing of agriculture for its significant contribution to the overall economy.
Project Coordinator Mushrooms, Abdul Qayum Shah, gave a detailed presentation of various activities carried out by the department. He said that mushrooms produced here are of the best quality and cultivated under extreme hygienic conditions. He highlighted various provisions of mushroom cultivation and said that this allied wing of agriculture had a potential not only to provide employment to unemployed youth but it could also be practised for domestic requirements of the households as well.
He further said that by the introduction of modern technology during the composting period, which was otherwise 45 days, have been reduced to 15-20 days. The cost of cultivation compared with the expenses on trays and other material have also been reduced to a good extent.
“Due to the 2014 floods the entire infrastructure of mushroom development at Lalmandi was completely devastated, with the result the industry faced a huge setback, but after the “Integrated Mushroom Development Centre” has been commissioned, the hopes for the revival of this sector and its regeneration has once again risen,” Shah said.
The Integrated Mushroom Development Centre at Lalmandi Srinagar has recently been commissioned to make available quality material for mushroom cultivation, and the centre is all set to provide high quality compost and spawn to the growers of the valley, the press note added.
Source: kashmirreader.com
