Nigeria: Farmers Urged to Practice Mushroom Farming

Farmers in the country have been enjoined to intensify large scale mushroom farming. Director General, National Biotechnology Development Agency, Professor B. O. Solomon said at the 6th Agricultural Summit in Abuja that large scale mushroom production need to be intensified because mushroom is a vegetable food source that is consumed all over Nigeria and has international market. It grows easily in tropical rain forest ecology.

"In Nigeria it is still collected from the wild, which also limits its wide consumption as many species are poisonous. Thus it requires experience/expertise in the identification of edible species for its consumption," he said.

He said commercial mushroom is imported into Nigeria but with some training and technical assistance, it can be produced commercially in Nigeria on a small scale. The protein content of mushrooms can be compared with that of legumes such as soya bean and groundnut and animal products such as milk.

"Mushrooms can therefore play an important role in the food security Programme of Nigeria," he said. He noted that small scale mushroom enterprise would cost about N400, 000 to establish. It will provide an annual income of about N250, 000 per annum. The rate of return is between 60% and 100%.