Mushroom cultivation has gained popularity among farmers and women SHG members here. Sold both in dry and raw forms, mushrooms are much in demand in the daily markets for its culinary, nutritional and health benefits.
However, in the absence of market linkage, the farmers and SHGs are unable to get expected profits from the crop.
Farmers said there is no minimum support price for mushroom which is the biggest stumbling block and leads to distress sale many times.
Mushroom is being grown on a large-scale in Madhusapatna, Indipur, Gondia, Lambadharpur and several remote villages of the district. Through SHGs, women are also coming forward in large numbers to take up mushroom cultivation to eke out a living. At present, price of one kg of mushroom is `120 to 150 in Dhenkanal while it costs much more in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
The mushroom producers from all parts of the district provide their stock to dealers in Lambadharpur who sell the same to vendors in Dhenkanal town and other cities. In the process, however, the producers get paid for their crop only after 15 days from the dealers. On the other hand, the producers often resort to distress sale as there is no MSP.
Farmers alleged that neither the district administration nor the ORMAS has come forward to provide them value-addition and marketing facilities despite repeated appeals.
A farmer, Kishore Chandra Sahoo, who has been growing mushrooms for 10 years now, said though the cash crop fetches good returns, little of that reaches the actual producers. “It is the middlemen who reap the profits as they look after the marketing part,” he said.
Assistant BDO of Sadar, Niranjan Mishra, said in the wake of women SHGs taking up mushroom cultivation, the block office has decided to disburse ` 3.50 lakh to 13 SHGs in the area to encourage them in mushroom cultivation.
Chief Executive of District Supply and Marketing Society, a unit of ORMAS, Nigam Das, said plans are in the pipeline to provide marketing support to mushroom growers.
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