Five mushroom farmers who started with Rs1000 investment and now clock lakhs per month

When it comes to indoor farming, mushroom cultivation is a clear winner. The initial investments for mushroom farming are low, the crop cycle is short, the market demand is growing and they can be cultivated in a small space.

Many mushroom entrepreneurs started with a small room or balcony in their house and scaled up the business to earn lakhs every month. 

Mushroom entrepreneurs say mushroom farming can be started with an investment of less than Rs500. The rate of mushroom spawn (seeds) is Rs100 to Rs120 per kg and one can make 10 bags of mushrooms from a kg of seeds. The medium is typically wheat straw for oyster mushrooms, paddy straw for milky white mushrooms and compost for button mushrooms. Mushroom seeds are mixed with the medium before filling the bags. 

After 45 days, the production will be around 30 to 32 kg of oyster mushrooms. 

At a wholesale market rate of around Rs 300 per kg, the income will be around Rs10,000 with an investment of under Rs500. The profits can be reinvested to grow the number of bags. 

Here are five mushroom entrepreneurs who started with an investment of Rs2000 or less and are now clocking a monthly turnover of lakhs of rupees:

1. Shanker Meena, Rajasthan

In January 2017, Shanker, an MBA dropout, began cultivation of mushrooms on a trial basis in his house in Jaipur. He invested Rs 1000 to procure spawns from Delhi and put up around 40 bags of oyster mushroom. 

With time, he also learned to prepare seeds at his unit. He now sells mushrooms and seeds of various varieties in India and overseas, earning Rs13 lakh per month. 

More here: Jaipur’s MBA dropout succeeds with mushroom seeds business; earns Rs13 lakh monthly revenues

2. Santosh Mishra, Odisha

With his savings of Rs36, Santosh bought four bottles of oyster mushroom spawns (seeds) from Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology (OUAT) in Bhubaneswar in 1989.

His Kalinga Mushroom Centre in Pipli now produces 2,000 bottles of spawns daily besides farming oyster and paddy straw varieties. He is setting up a Rs 2-crore food processing unit to make mushroom flour, pickles, snacks, and other items.

Here’s his story: How this Odisha man became a mushroom millionaire with Rs 36 investment; has trained over 10 lakh people

3. Pratibha Jha, Bihar

With five kg of seeds, she put up 50 mushroom bags in a room of her old house lying vacant. “I invested about Rs400 in procuring paddy straw, poly bags etc., investing a total of Rs1000.” 

Since Pratibha was new to mushroom farming, she made some minor mistakes and the output was 6 kg per bag (against an average of 10kg per bag). The first profit of Rs1500 prompted her to learn more and today, her monthly turnover is Rs2 lakh.

Here’s her story: From Rs 1000 investment to Rs2 lakh monthly turnover, how this Bihar housewife scripted a mushroom success story

4. Shije Varghese, Kerala

She began oyster mushroom farming on her balcony as a pastime. She invested Rs250 to put up six oyster mushroom bags. 

Today, her brand Coonfresh sells 1.8 lakh kg of mushrooms besides other value-added products annually, clocking Rs50 lakh. She has also trained 15,000 people in mushroom cultivation.

Read her story here: From Rs 250 investment to Rs 50 lakh turnover, how this Kerala woman scripted an oyster mushroom success story

5. Manish Yadav, Delhi

He started mushroom farming in a 15ft X 15ft room on a trial basis in Delhi. Earning well within two months, he increased the number of racks and rooms to expand the cultivation of button mushrooms

He now sells 40,000 kg of button mushroom annually and the price goes up to Rs450 per kg during summer, taking his annual income to Rs60 lakh (or Rs5 lakh a month).

His story is here: This MBA mushroom farmer earns Rs5 lakh a month from just a 1400 sq ft unit

(Riya Singh is a Ranchi-based journalist who writes on environment, farming, sustainability, startups, & women empowerment)

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