STORY OF MUSHROOM FARMERS

He was once a government officer reaching out to the community via social economic programmes including setting up cooperatives and helping the Orang Asli come up with eco-tourism products to uplift their livelihood. But then Muhamad Saidan Sanib (35) has decided to get his “hands dirty” by venturing into mushroom farming. So, two years ago, he quit his job in Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) where he had worked for 10 years. These days, he runs a small mushroom farm on a plot of land in his family home in Kg Parit Selangor, Pontian, Johor. For Muhamad Saidan observed that mushroom farming was getting popular especially among locals who lost their jobs in Singapore amid the Covid-19 pandemic. He mention that mushroom farming requires a lot of dedication as cautioned. He spoke of having to wake up as early as 4am to harvest the mushrooms so that they could be sent fresh to the markets and shops daily. Everyday his farm produces about 20kg to 30kg of fresh oyster mushrooms. Both his mushroom houses can accommodate up to 20,000 containers to grow the mushrooms. Muhamad Saidan said that 1kg could be sold for about RM15 to RM18/kg wholesale price. Besides oyster mushrooms, he also cultivates a special Kukur Mushroom variety in which sells for as much as RM65 per kg. This type of mushroom species is only cultivated when there are special orders from customer and usually at least once a month.  Muhamad Saidan said that he started mushroom farming about several years ago after his brother got into it in 2014. To help with the farming currently he hired several students to work part-time. The students help him to fill up the containers which are used to grow the mushrooms in his two mushroom houses and adding that each container takes about 45 to 100 days before the mushrooms could be harvested. He said that mushrooms in southern states like Johor were expensive in the market as the raw material to fill up the containers to cultivate them were difficult to get especially rubber wood dust. Besides the dust nowadays he also adds rice husks and lime along with the mushroom seeds for them to germinate. As for those seeking to get into mushroom farming, he said that they could set it up in a room in their own home for production. His advice is to make sure that the place is a bit damp to promote the growth of the mushrooms and adding that he plans to organise courses or talks to get people interested in mushroom farming in the future. Thanks.

News source: NSTP

By,

M Anem,

Putrajaya,

Malaysia.

(January 2022).