ONE DISTRICT ONE PRODUCT – DISTRICT SAMBA (MUSHROOM)

ODOP PRODUCT – MUSHROOM

CONCEPT NOTE:FARMER PRODUCER ORGANIZATION & MUSHROOM CULTIVATION IN RESPECT OF SAMBA

                                                  Samba District comprises of 6 Tehsils and 9 blocks having a geographical area of 91374 Ha , Net Cultivated area of 39203 Ha, no. of villages 385, no of farming families 39219 is located in the foothills of Shivalik Himalayas, is blessed with suitable agro climates which provides favorable weather throughout the year for mushroom cultivation. Presently white button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and milky mushrooms are grown in and around Samba, while button mushrooms occupy about 80% share in the market. Moreover scope for intense diversification by cultivation of other edible mushrooms like shiitake/medicinal mushrooms and value addition are additional opportunities for mushroom growers. Presently about 503 mushroom growers are producing 6964.020 quintals of mushroomMushroom being hi tech horticulture venture has a promising scope to meet the nutritional security of UT without undue pressure on land. For the people of this region, the two main issues are the quality of food and employment besides the environment issues and these can be resolved by popularizing year-round mushroom cultivation amongst the rural masses and young generation.
                                                                                               Constraints
The Mushroom cultivation in Samba district is largely unorganized due to the following factors:

•  Lack of facilities to produce quality compost, casing material, spawn & processed products.
• Being a highly perishable and lack of storage facilities farmers have to sell their harvest at lower price and many a times there are post harvest loses.
• The traditional supply chain is unorganized, highly inefficient and has high rate of wastage as mushroom is sold in most of the local market without standard packages & measurement unspecified quantities, quality and price variation.
• Farmers experience price risk, information asymmetry about demand, distribution inefficiency and receive late payments.
• Retailers face problem like higher cost, low quality and unhygienic produce, high price volatilities and the everyday hassle of going to the market.
• 75% of the mushroom farmers were found to be inefficient in the knowledge & technique of commercial mushroom cultivation.
• Threats of pests and diseases.
• Lack of capital/ labour/ finance and unavailability of inputs.
•  High cost of energy for year round production.
•  Farmers have to face high competition in the market from the neighboring States like Punjab & Himachal Pradesh.
•  Inadequate government support for marketing.
•  No canning unit/cold storage.

Way forward

One of the most effective way of promoting and exploiting present potential of mushroom in Samba district is to make a collective effort through Farmers Producer organization. Under the project, focus will be in developing self reliant Farmer Producer Organization through training and capacity building, liaising with different banking and financial institutes for credit mobilization and providing extension services to the FIGS for production, processing and marketing. Detail of the implementation Plan is as

Feasibility Analysis
The mushroom growers mostly depended on self made mechanism of production, processing and marketing. These process results in loss of quality and quantity due to lack of modern storage and value addition facilities. With the formation of new groups the process of collection, storage , branding , packaging and quality control is centralized/ federated. Seasonal production is possible in a big way in Samba as temperature remains below 20°c during winter season. In this situation cost of production is low.Significant availability of agriculture residues in the Samba district provides easy and cheap material for compost and casing.Pandemic has prompted to have another look at the consumption of mushroom known for their immunity boosting anti viral properties.Being a “vegan meat” and having unique delicious taste it stays at the top in vegetable cuisine in hotels / restaurant and social gatherings.Well contacted both by land and air provides an ample opportunities for the export of mushroom and its value added products like pickle and soup powder.Mushroom growers have not to clash with the cultivation of other crops as this cultivation does not require any land to cultivate and is free from vagaries of climate.This vocation supplements the farmers income without effecting their normal cultivation work and ensures up to 100% profit.Baseline assessment and mobilization of Mushroom Grower: In the beginning, intensive visit will be made in project areas, conducting interaction with mushroom grower’s to develop better understanding of their assets, aspirations and challenges.Dedicated survey will be carried out in each village to collect the mushroom grower’s information, market details and analyze the trends to set a benchmark. Baseline data will be used for setting up of indicators which will be used for conducting annual reviews and project end impact assessment. During process of mushroom grower’s mobilization, data will be collected including Photographs of mushroom grower, identity proof of grower and willingness from mushroom growers with production detail in prescribed form, there after detail of Farmers is to be prepared.
Number of Mushroom growers to be included under the project
The membership of FPO initially proposed in this project is 503 for which NABARD’s assistance is being sought. However based on the project feasibility and the decisions taken by the FPO subsequently, the membership can be increased in the FPO but no additional grant assistance from NABARD will be sought. The basic criteria of membership are going to be any individual or family who is directly or indirectly related with three aspects of Mushroom i.e., production, processing and marketing with more emphasis on mushroom producers at village level.

DISTRICT OFFICER DETAILS

GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL FORM 

Constitution of Apex Level Approval Committee

Export Documentation and Procedures

Farmer Producer Organization Samba

List of Beneficiares

List of Authorized Suppliers

ODOP CALENDAR 2024-25

SUCCESS STORY