Scientific cultivation of Mushroom proved boon for farmers of Arunachal Pradesh

Details:

The application of the latest technology in Mushroom cultivation has paid rich dividends to the farmers of the Naharlagun in West Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh, and has elevated their living standards.

Training in mushroom cultivation is provided to the local farmers by CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology (NESIT). The farmers have formed NGOs and Self Help Groups (SHGs) and are cultivating mushrooms on large scale. Further, they also want to venture into the production and sale of aromatic and medicinal plants.

Buoyed by their success, they now want their products to reach markets in far-off places and in other states. Tabu Dui, a mushroom farmer said that per annum a mushroom farmer or a group of farmers earn Rs 4-Rs 5 lakh.

These farmers emphasized the need of increasing the production of mushroom seeds and cultivating Ginger and turmeric. They also want support in the testing of their products so as to make them marketable and stand in competition with other products.

The success story of the mushroom cultivators of Arunachal Pradesh needs to be replicated on a wider scale.

Principal Investigator: Dr. Chandan Tamuly, CSIR-NESIT Branch Lab Itanagar. ctamuly@neist.res.in

Implementing Agency: CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology (CSIR-NESIT), Branch Lab Itanagar

Funding Agency: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)