In 1992, Sanjeev Singh was arguably one of the only farmers growing mushrooms in Punjab. At 25, the Tanda village farmer began his journey from his backyard. He says his inspiration came from Mera Pind Mera Kisan, a programme on farmers telecast on Doordarshan, a government news channel. He was in college at the time.
Determined to try his hands at growing this lucrative crop, he dedicated a year to research and exploring the potential market, as well as the methods used to grow the crop. “I enrolled in a year-long course on mushroom farming at Punjab Agricultural University. I learned it was possible to grow mushrooms indoor vertically, and in bags. The crop does not require any soil, but organic compost, which is an easy solution,” he says.
Sanjeev, now 54, was not aware of any person practicing mushroom farming at the time, which added to the challenge of having to experiment and learn all by himself. At the time, there was also a general lack of awareness about mushrooms….
