Women empowerment while has become a popular agenda of the Government, Baleswar MP RK Jena has come forward to empower a woman who wants to make a handsome income from mushroom cultivation. Urmila Behera (36) of tribal dominated Nilgiri, while was struggling for a patch of land to expand his mushroom cultivation, Jena after learning about her need promised her to give one acre of land.
Besides, he assured her to give a cow. Only adversities have taught Urmila how to eke out living out of mushroom cultivation. She, of village Machhua, has proved her mettle.
Jena promised her to give a patch of land in her native block Nilgiri, with a condition that she would groom another 100 entrepreneurs in mushroom cultivation in the district.
She happened to come across Jena in a training at Baliapal
Krushi Bigyan Kendra,(KBK), which was held in the first week of October.
During interaction with her, he could learn that the woman had experience in mushroom cultivation and she could go further if provided support.
“The woman after suffering from abject poverty had undertaken mushroom cultivation. She could have gone a long way had she owned a land.
After learning what she needs, I promised her to give an acre of land,” said Jena.
“In turn I just asked her to groom 100 women entrepreneurs in the district which she agreed,” he said.
Her journey in the mushroom cultivation began about three years ago. With hardly any experience, she jumped into the venture for a living, when her husband, the sole bread winner, fell sick.
Her family included, her husband and two grown up daughters. The elder one reads plus two science and another in Class X.
Her husband, Santosh Behera (45) was working in a local factory in Remuna as a casual worker and in 2013, he was affected with brain malaria. He couldn’t go for duty and money was required for his treatment. She took him to Cuttack for treatment and spent about Rs 1.5 lakh.
“I had no money. Therefore, I decided to undertake mushroom cultivation. I had little experience while working in a Government watershed programme as a volunteer in 2006-07. I had no money to buy paddy straw. I borrowed the straw from a person from our locality promising him to pay back within two weeks. It was taken up in my own patch of land of about 2 decimal. Just after 12 days of mushroom seeding, it yielded and I paid the straw cost to him. This is story of my beginning” said Urmila.
“Further I wanted to expand my cultivation but no land was available for the purpose. I approached to a local moneyed man. He gave me a piece of land. He allowed me to do cultivation and take remuneration as a certain percentage of the income. But after a very good production, he offered me a monthly salary, instead of percentage from profit. I denied and quit the farm,” she said, adding that the profit in mushroom cultivation is almost double than the input cost.
She said that she was selling them Rs 140-Rs 150 per kg. She has made 80 mushroom cultivation beds in her 2-decimal patch of land.
“I asked for land and a cow. The used paddy straw of mushroom bed would be used as fodder for cow. I will make Vermicompost and with cow dung, I would prepare organic fertilizer. Once I get land in the patch I would undertake vegetable and other horticulture cultivation,” Urmila said, adding that she received formal training from the KBK after she learnt that training was essential to get loan from bank.
“Urmila is a successful entrepreneur and very hardworking. She can prove much better if her needs are fulfilled,” said KBK, Baliapal coordinator Dr Sanjay Mohanty.