About half a dozen thrust areas will be worked upon for encouraging the cultivation of mushrooms in the State. The cooperative department and horticulture department will jointly work to facilitate training for women interested in cultivating mushroom, said chief minister Harish Rawat. He said this while visiting the mushroom exhibition organised by the cooperatives department here on Friday.
Appreciating the mushroom and items containing it like salad and pickle, the chief minister said that there is much scope for mushroom farming in the mountainous regions of Uttarakhand. With an environment conducive to mushroom cultivation, the homes lying vacant in mountainous areas could also be put to use for cultivation of mushroom. The cultivation of mushrooms can become an important source of livelihood and employment for the people in rural areas, added Rawat. The CM further said that the State Government had declared the Ravain area a ‘mushroom valley’ with work on this progressing in the right direction. Apart from this, many people are also doing good in this sphere at the individual level. Expressing appreciation for Divya Rawat of the Saumya Foods autonomous cooperative committee, the CM said that work done by her for cultivation of mushrooms in the Chamoli district is also motivating others in this direction. The cooperative secretary Vijay Dhaundiyal, horticulture mission state director BS Negi, assistant registrar at Uttarakhand cooperatives headquarters, Ramindri Mandrawal and others concerned were also among those present on the occasion.