Zambian project seeks to promote mushroom farming

Oyster mushrooms are found on rotting agricultural waste and on wood in forests, but now a project in Zambia is developing oyster mushroom seeds for distribution to farmers.

Lime and millet grains — which act as food supplements – are used to help develop the seeds. Lime helps control acidity in the soil, which can kill germinating seeds. The grains are boiled, then mixed with lime in plastic bags before introducing mycelium, a vegetative part of mushroom fungus, to colonize the sterilized grains.

The project is led by the school of agricultural sciences at the University of Zambia in Lusaka. Kingsley Chipampe is a crop scientist there. He supports the idea of cultivating mushrooms on the farms of rural Zambians as both a crop, and as an inexpensive but healthy food for the farmer’s table.

Chipampe says oyster mushrooms have less protein than meat or fish, but nearly as much as maize or legumes, “As you know traditionally, growing mushrooms is done seasonally (during the warm summer season). Within three months people stop growing mushrooms, but for this project in which we are selling the seeds, they can be grown throughout the year from January to December.”

Oyster mushrooms are grown in mushroom houses made of local materials like wood, bamboo and clay. They are placed in hanging polyethylene plastic tubes or baskets containing compost or agricultural waste.

Among the main challenges to growing seeds is the acquisition of materials such as mycelium, lime and plastic — all of which are expensive. Also, taking the time for careful housing construction is important; improperly constructed mushroom houses can result in plants that are poorly formed or distorted, making them hard to sell.

VOA