Date » 2012-03-20

Nigeria is a country that presents so many business opportunities for interested entrepreneurs and in this article, we'll be exploring some of these opportunities in this agro and allied sector of the economy with specific look into mushroom farming business.

Mushroom farming is not very popular yet as the several others in the category of farming, but it is very lucrative, most especially because of the demand for it by foreigners in Nigeria. Among the nationals of the Asian, middle-eastern and some European countries, there is a demand for mushrooms for reasons ranging from its medicinal properties, to its nutritional value.

The land requirement for it could be as small as one plot of land, depending on the volume the farmer hopes to produce. Mushrooms grow on compose heap, either artificially created or naturally created by a tree that fell and decomposed. Mushrooms grow on the decayed and decaying portion of the tree. This is what has been transferred to the artificial growth of it. The area is cleared and laced with saw dust collected from the saw mill. This is watered and laced with a layer of food wastes gathered from the hotel or any restaurant.

This is watered until the food wastes decompose into the saw dust. It must be pointed out that the odour at this time could be a bit unpleasant. Thereafter, the odour reduces; the farmer can then produce the seed from the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Lagos (F.I.I.R.O) for planting. It diminishes in value quickly, as such the transfer of it to the buyer or market should be fast, while its freshness is still retained.

The hotels will buy the mushroom off you if you contact them, however, if you want a diverse client base, then a small advert in a newspaper of “mushroom for sale along with your mobile number”, will open up requests from everywhere the newspaper covers.

Original content author: Mr. Dele Abegunde,  deleabegunde@yahoo.com