The year was 1998. Floods had ravaged the eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh. People were forced to leave their homes and they were settled at higher places with their animals. The turbulent water had damaged their crops. The destruction was so heavy that some progressive farmers of the region wondered if they could take their crop with them during floods.
“This idea led to mushroom cultivation in the region. It all started with just 20 farmers and now their strength has gone up to 2,000 and this number is increasing with every passing month,” said Paras Nath Singh, one of the initiators of this scheme in Deoria.
He says the best part of this cultivation is that farmers can grow mushrooms in a very small room or a shed, which can further be divided into small racks or sacks. The farmer can cultivate mushrooms along with other agricultural produce. This not only increases the agricultural income but also at the time of flood, the farmer can take that rack with him to safer places along with his animals. “This helps the farmer in saving the mushroom cultivation when his other crop is damaged in the floods,” said Singh, who is also convener of non-governmental organisation Yuva Chetna Kendra in Deoria.
The mushroom cultivation is picking up among the farmers because it is almost a perennial crop and gives a farmer 3- 5 times profit. The highest profit is in growing milky mushrooms in which the profit is almost five times and the least in button mushrooms where the profit is 2-3 times of the expenditure.