US$35 investment to your financial breakthrough

Patricia Mashiri

Mushroom farming is a very profitable venture as the crop can be grown all-year round with little capital investment on limited space while potential earnings range from twice to thrice the input.

Demand for mushroom has seen significant growth lately as many people choose to eact healthy and cut down on meat. Others are also constrained by budgets. Mushroom has come in as a worthy substitute, which is 100% organic and contains amounts of selenium, vitamin D and vitamin B6.

Selenium helps prevent cell damage, while Vitamin D helps with cell growth and Vitamin B6 helps the body form red blood cells.

Mushroom can also be used by pharmaceutical companies to manufacture drugs.

An Agricultural Marketing Authority survey revealed that a kilogramme of button costs between US$7 and US$10, while that of oyster costs between US$2.50 and US$5 in local supermarkets.

Speaking to Zim Now, Agri-Advisor Consulting agronomist, Trywell Muzerengi said Zimbabwe is exporting mushroom to Poland and China implying there is a ready market and demand.

“Growing mushroom requires little resources as one can turn crop residues into cash by growing mushroom. You can build a cheap mushroom house from plastics and grass for those in farms, in town they can convert garages or buy cabins.

“Mushrooms can be grown all-year round. They have a high yield for example an area measuring five metres by five metres can produce 300-350 kilogrammes of mushroom,” Muzerengi said.