Jammu, Oct 17 (IANS): Mushroom is the new cash crop for residents of Samba district in Jammu and Kashmir as a considerable number of locals are adopting its customised farming, with the help of government subsidies and technical advancement.

The mushroom cultivation is becoming a vital source of income and livelihood for many in the valley while couple of young graduates have consciously made a choice to shift from traditional jobs to entrepreneurship. Mushroom cultivation has become the first-choice of farmers here, owing to its easy and low-cost cultivation and profit-generation capacity.

Also, the valley's climatic conditions remain apt and favourable for mushroom growth. Other reason behind farmers' enhanced interest in taking up mushroom cultivation is its round-the-year cultivation, unlike earlier.

Pushwinder Singh, a young farmer from Samba shared his story about adopting mushroom cultivation as a primary venture and elaborated on how the government's subsidy enabled him to pursue this as a career.

Speaking to IANS, he said: "We have been doing mushroom farming for the past 24 years. Initially, we harvested from October to March. After completing my education, due to the lack of good job opportunities, I set up a controlled unit. The Department of Agriculture helped us and provided a subsidy of Rs 75,000, which enabled us to move forward. We created a small room and installed air conditioning, observing that our unit was functioning well."

"With further assistance from the Department of Agriculture, we established a growing room and a compost unit on lease. This allowed us to produce mushrooms year-round at good rates, especially during off-seasons when there’s a shortage in the market, leading to higher profits. Today, we have 10-15 people working with us, helping to support their families," he remarked.

Dhan Gopal Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer of Samba told IANS about the new compost system yielding greater produce than before.

"Our seed multiplication farm is located in District Samba. This is one of the unique farms, especially because it supports integrated mushroom development. We have the essential materials required for mushroom cultivation, like compost," said Dhan Gopal Singh.

“People usually use compost for spawning, and here, we have a pasteurisation unit that makes pasteurised compost. Previously, we used traditional composting methods, but pasteurisation frees the compost from harmful microbes, increasing mushroom production by 25 per cent, compared to locally-made compost," he added.

The real-life stories of young Agri-preneurs in Samba taking to mushroom cultivation is a testimony of the government's focus on encouraging farmers and also doubling their income.