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An edible fungi is doing in India’s Himachal Pradesh what politicians took decades to do: Bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.
There is new growing trend in farming sector of Solan – a picturesque mountain district in Northern India. Farmers, are switching from apple cultivation to grow mushroom, earlier afforded only by the rich. The trend, besides spinning money, is also narrowing the great divide of eating habits of the the rich and the poor.
How so? one may ask. And here is the answer:
In Himachal Pradesh, as well as in other parts of India, mushrooms are largely seen as the food of the privileged. Even hotels and restaurants mushroom is used sparingly and if one travels to smaller towns, especially in restaurants where customers are from lower income group, the menu card doesn’t include any mushroom dishes.
In fact Gucchii — one of the rarest varieties of mushroom – was found only in the forests of Himachal Pradesh. But it’s high cost kept it out of reach of people with modest income.
So mushroom has been a costly delicacy and a status symbol.
However, in and around Solan this is now set to become a thing of past as hundreds of farmers are now growing mushroom. So, the once-coveted edible fungi is fast becoming everybody’s food, reaching the plates of common consumers. There are about 806 mushroom farms right now in Solan – the reason why in 1997 it was named ‘Mushroom City of India’.
Popularity of mushroom farming is also becoming a great alternative livelihood for thousands of unemployed and poor of the farming communities. In fact 69% of the state’s total workforce is employed in the farming its allied sectors including mushroom cultivation.
Government records state that mushroom cultivation was introduced to local farmers who lost large amount of money on apple orchards, because of diseases of apples and poor weather. Since most of the farmers own only tiny plots of land, covering the loss on apple crop failure is difficult for them. So growing mushroom has become a popular means of livelihood for these small, marginal farmers, as well as agricultural labourers.
As the government actively promotes mushroom cultivation, providing cheap seeds and free technical assistance, farm labourers now have a chance to be financially independent by becoming mushroom farmer themselves, instead of putting hard labour on apple orchard for marginal wages.
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