Exploring the Potential of Oyster Mushroom Cultivation as Remunerative Agri-Enterprise in Punjab

Mushroom cultivation is a remunerative activity that has potential for economic upliftment and empowerment of farmers. While button mushroom cultivation is already established among many farmers in Punjab, oyster mushroom cultivation has not gained as much popularity in the region despite its high nutritive value. In order to evaluate the production and economic efficacy of oyster mushroom cultivation, on-farm trials with 30 farmers were conducted in District Sangrur, Punjab under Farmer FIRST Project. Farmers were provided with spawn and polythene bags for mushroom production, and data were collected on production parameters, yield, economic efficacy, and prospects of the farmers. Results from the trials showed that the average time for the first harvest of produce was 40.1 days (min 34, max 47), with an average yield of 66.2 kg of mushrooms per 100 kg of dry substrate used. So, farmers are getting produce within the 1-1.5 months of the enterprise start. The cost of producing mushrooms from a 5kg compost bag was Rs. 56 while yielding the net profit of Rs. 208 per bag. Furthermore, 70 percent of the surveyed farmers expressed interest in continuing oyster mushroom cultivation, with 62 percent of them showed interest to increase the scale of production. The ease of cultivation, availability of raw materials, and good taste of the oyster mushroom were expressed as favourable factors for adoption. Overall, these results suggest that oyster mushroom cultivation is an easy and profitable agricultural practice and a viable occupation for farmers with minimal resources. However, market feasibility for large-scale production will need to be considered and developed through processing and marketing facilities.