Chef quits Dubai job to start mushroom farming; clocks Rs 1.5 lakh monthly from 1000 sq ft

After working as a chef for some of India’s top hotels, Santosh Eknath Bangar got an opportunity to work for the five-star Ramada Hotel in Dubai. He was earning well, but when it was time to get married, he decided to return to his hometown, Manchar, Ambegaon taluka in Maharashtra.

“I had worked for ten years as a chef before quitting my job. In the hotel kitchens, I realised that the demand for oyster mushrooms was high, especially in continental cuisine. However, there were limited sources of good-quality mushrooms, and the supply was inconsistent,” Santosh tells 30Stades.

Why oyster mushrooms

Button mushrooms account for 74 percent of the total mushroom production in India, followed by oyster mushrooms at 14 percent, and the rest comprises paddy straw and other varieties. 

Oyster mushroom farming is more profitable than button mushroom cultivation due to lower capital costs and a faster growth cycle (production starts from day 22 or 23). There is no need to prepare compost, like in the case of button mushrooms, and the paddy or wheat straw is just boiled before adding the spawns. 

While button mushrooms are in high demand, their longer growing periods (about eight to ten weeks from compost to harvest) can limit profitability.

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“Many small growers start oyster mushroom farming but cannot access bulk buyers and have to shut down eventually. The missing link in mushroom entrepreneurship is effective marketing,” says Santosh, who graduated in hotel management from Singhad College in Lonavala, Pune University, in 2008.

Starting an oyster mushroom unit

Once back home in Manchar, Santosh first started a café as he understood the food business well. Alongside, he started learning about oyster mushroom farming through online videos. “I thought I should cash in on the latest trend of mushroom farming, as it has a good future. I knew its uses, buyers, and sales and marketing since it is related to my industry (food),” he adds.

Also Read: With Rs150 investment, how this housewife built a mushroom business earning Rs3 lakh monthly

So in January 2024, he set up an organic oyster mushroom production unit over 1,000 sq ft. 

“I purchased 30kg of spawns from the College of Agriculture in Pune at Rs 90 per kg. With one kg of spawns, growers can put up 10 bags of mushrooms,” he says. 

Santosh says there is an incubation period of 15 to 17 days after the mycelium (or spawn) is added to sterilised substrate like paddy straw or wheat straw. After 15-17 days, when the bed matures, cuts are made on the polybags. Pinheads arrive after two to three days and then grow rapidly. 

“The first harvest is ready in 23-24 days. This is followed by another harvest after eight days and the third and final flush after 15 days,” he says. 

If prepared well, each bag gives one kg of oyster mushrooms over 45 days.

“I harvested 25 kg of oyster mushrooms daily in my first attempt, as I had prepared the bags at a gap. I sold it at Rs 170 per to my contacts in metro cities and did not face any marketing problems,” he says.

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Low-cost oyster mushroom farming and revenues 

Today, Santosh harvests 900 kg to 1,000 kg of oyster mushrooms monthly, clocking a turnover of Rs 1.5 lakh. “I sell to wholesale buyers at Rs170 to Rs180 per kg. Sometimes, I retail it to customers at Rs250 per kg, so the turnover goes up,” he adds.

The key to Santosh’s success is his low-cost model, which creates the right temperature and humidity conditions even in the summer months when cultivation of oyster mushrooms is otherwise difficult. “It is a non-air-conditioned structure where I grow mushrooms throughout the year,” he says. 

“Oyster mushrooms can grow well naturally in winter and rainy seasons. They require cooler weather in summer,” he says.

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“To keep costs low, I hang the mushroom bags in rows, with each row having five to six bags. They are hung using nylon ropes. It is a cheaper alternative to wooden racks and gives flexibility. In 1,000 sq ft, I hang 1200 bags,” he says.

“Secondly, to ensure oyster production in summer, I use jute bags. I put drips directly above the bags. The drip emitters allow water to slowly and consistently drip onto the bags, reducing heat and maintaining humidity,” he says.

He also uses foggers to maintain the right temperature and humidity. “This gives consistent income throughout the year,” he says. Any surplus production is dehydrated and sold as dry mushrooms.

Santosh’s unit is fully organic. Some farmers use formalin or other chemicals to disinfect and sanitise the substrate. “I use soybean, paddy or wheat straw depending on availability. Sterilisation for organic mushrooms is done through hot water treatment. Water is boiled at 70 degrees Celsius, and cut straw is dipped in it and covered for 18 hours. The water is then drained, and the required moisture is maintained for adding spawns,” he points out.

Santosh is now planning to double the production by adding another 1,000 sq ft of space to his unit. “It will be done in the next two months,” he says.

(Rashmi Pratap is a Mumbai-based journalist specialising in financial, business and socio-economic reporting)

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