Embrace mushroom farming – NEPC advises Nigerians

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council has advised Nigerians to embrace mushroom farming to boost food production in the country and to boost foreign exchange earnings as the nation goes into economic recession.

The Trade Promotion Advisor of the NEPC, Akure Office, Mr. Moruf Salami, said this in Osogbo on Friday  at a one-day export workshop on mushroom development for export in Osun State.

Salami said, “ The NEPC is organising this workshop to enlighten our business community on the rudiments of export trade for economic growth. Nigerians need to tap into the multimillion- dollar mushroom business; there is a huge money in this business and Nigerians should explore the opportunities.

The importance of non-oil sector to our national economy and its pivotal role in industrialisation, especially in this period of dwindling oil revenue, cannot be downplayed. The intention of this workshop is primarily to expose the framers to modern ways of cultivating mushrooms to meet international standards, thereby bringing out the distinct features of export business as opposed to domestic trade.”

Salami said rather than depending on the old method of picking mushrooms from the wild, farmers could grow it even in the cities thereby making money from using technology to grow the crop.

The Regional Coordinator of NEPC, Mr. Babatunde Faleke, said mushroom consumption had taken a global dimension, adding that the

crop could change the financial fortune of the growers.

The Director of African Centre for Mushroom Research and Technological Innovations, Prof. John Okhuoya, said mushroom was in demand in the United States, Europe and Asia because of its health benefits.

He explained that African mushroom was being sought after because they were being used to produce drugs adding that it was being recommended for the treatment of ailments such as high blood pressure, diabetes and others.

The President, Association of Mushroom Growers in Osun State, Mrs.  Comfort Olaosun, lauded the NEPC for the workshop saying it was an eye opener.

Olaosun said the growers would be able to produce more and make more money using technology to grow it.

[Punch]