A group of farmers who toiled away at building up a mushroom business are among those entrepreneurs who have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The ‘San Ki Paia Joint Liability Group’, formed by a group of four in 2019 under the leadership of Raymond Mukim, is facing the brunt of the pandemic owing to disruption in the supply of materials and avenues to sell their goods.
Speaking to Highland Post, Mukhim said that in 2019 the four farmers agreed to start mushroom cultivation at a place provided by the Dorbar Shnong of Lawsohtun and invested everything they could to grow the business.
He said that the group was doing very well and making a profit through the button mushrooms cultivated inside the thatched houses they built and they produce more than 30 kilograms of mushrooms a day and were considering expanding production three-fold.
“The various agencies that used to help us sell our mushrooms have to return the mushrooms most of the time, especially this year, and most of our produce and hard labour were wasted,” Mukhim lamented.
To add to their misery, in March a forest fire at Lawsohtun burned the straw they had stockpiled, costing them Rs 4 lakh. Some assistance has been provided by the local MDC since the incident, though.
Pointing out that the urgent need at the farm is electricity supply, he said, “We need electricity on the farm to equip ourselves with air conditioning, fans, etc to control the fluctuating temperature and maintain a room temperature crucial for the successful cultivation of the button mushrooms. We also hope the memorandum of understanding signed between the state government, the Hill Farmers Union, and Japan for the cultivation of the shiitake mushrooms materializes so that we can expand and also cultivate the shiitake mushroom, which has a high market value and is easy to cultivate.”
He further expressed thankfulness towards the Mylliem BDO that provided fencing for the farm and the efforts of local MLA Hamletson Dohling. Mukhim also expressed gratitude to the Assistant Director of Horticulture who has encouraged and provided them with assistance and also assured more growing rooms to the farmers.
