This Rajasthan mushroom farmer earns Rs 7 lakh a year from just 600 sq ft

Growing up in the fields in Durgapura (Piprali) village in Sikar district, Rajasthan, all that Sanjay Kumar Yadav knew was farming of seasonal crops. Vegetables, millets and pulses were the mainstay of his family’s 2.5-acre farm.

“But I always wanted to learn more and earn more. In 2017, I went to ICAR-Directorate of Mushroom Research in Solan, Himachal Pradesh. There, I received hands-on exposure to scientific mushroom cultivation,” Sanjay tells 30Stades.

“During the training, we were taught many agricultural practices, but mushroom farming interested me the most. “It required less land, could be done indoors, and had assured local demand,” he says.

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Starting small with oyster mushrooms

Sanjay purchased 1 kg of oyster mushroom spawns from Solan and returned home. “I decided to test what he had learned on a very small scale. I prepared nine mushroom bags using locally available wheat straw,” he says.

As a first-time grower, the results were modest but encouraging. The nine bags yielded about 5 kg of mushrooms, which he sold at Rs 200 per kg in the local market, earning Rs 1,000.

“It was not a big amount, but it gave me confidence that mushrooms could work here,” he says.

To keep costs low, he constructed a mud structure for mushroom cultivation. He invested around Rs 1 lakh in building a 30 feet x 20 feet (600 sq ft) structure with a thatched roof and bamboo, purchasing bags, spawns and materials for compost, etc.

“Growing mushrooms in a kutcha (mud) hut is a low-cost, energy-efficient method because the mud walls naturally maintain high humidity and stable, cool temperatures, which are ideal for mushrooms. Concrete sheds or climate-controlled units require high investments,” says Sanjay.

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He gradually expanded oyster mushroom cultivation to around 100 bags. Oyster mushrooms, known for their resilience and suitability to warm conditions, became his entry point into commercial mushroom entrepreneurship.

The learning from button mushrooms

In 2018-19, Sanjay decided to diversify into button mushrooms, which have higher demand but also require more precision in composting and hygiene.

The initial years were difficult. “I was continuing with oyster mushroom farming successfully. But for nearly three years, I struggled with inconsistent yields in button mushrooms due to a lack of experience. However, instead of giving up, I decided to learn more,” he says.

He attended training programmes at Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) in Jaipur and Sikar while refining his methods through trial and error.

The breakthrough came in 2021. That year, Sanjay prepared nine button mushroom beds, each measuring approximately 2.5 feet by 15 feet. The results were significantly better, with total production generating around Rs 90,000 in revenue during the season.

“This was the turning point. Once I understood compost quality and environmental control, button mushrooms became reliable.”

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Adding milky mushrooms

In 2021-22, Sanjay further diversified by adding milky mushrooms to his farm. “With three varieties under cultivation -- button, milky and oyster – I could design a production cycle that runs almost the entire year,” he says.

From November to February, he grows button mushrooms, followed by milky mushrooms from March to June and Oyster mushrooms from July to October.

“This allows me to use the same infrastructure year-round while matching each variety to suitable climatic conditions,” he says.

Today, his annual turnover from mushrooms is Rs 6.5 lakh. Of this, button mushrooms contribute around Rs 3 lakh, while oyster and milky mushrooms together generate another Rs 3 lakh. He sells button mushrooms at Rs 350 per kg, oyster mushrooms at Rs 300 and milky mushrooms for Rs 250 per kg.

“Traders buy it directly from my unit,” he says.

Increasing income through compost-making

In 2024–25, Sanjay took another step towards improving profitability by starting on-farm compost production for button mushrooms. Instead of purchasing ready compost, he began preparing it himself and selling surplus to other growers.

Each compost bag weighs 10 kg and is sold at Rs 150. Sanjay earns a profit of around Rs 6 per kg, or Rs 60 per bag.

In the current year, he sold nearly 3 tonnes of compost, generating a turnover of about Rs 60,000 from compost alone. While compost sales are still a secondary activity, they add an extra income stream and reduce his cultivation costs.

Sanjay sources mushroom spawns from suppliers in Jaipur, Hisar and Solan, depending on the mushroom variety. Ensuring quality spawn, he says, is critical to maintaining consistent yields.

Alongside mushrooms, Sanjay also practices natural farming. He grows vegetables and food grains using chemical-free methods and holds PGS India certification, a government-backed certification for organic and natural produce. This segment of his farm contributes an additional Rs 4 lakh turnover.

What sets Sanjay’s journey apart is not scale but stability. By using a mud house, local materials, seasonal planning and continuous learning, he has built a farming system that spreads risk and ensures income across the year.

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

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