•IN some villages, women’s co-operatives are growing mushrooms.

By HAPPY MULOLANI  –

MUSHROOM is a cash crop that is rain-fed and more recently, smallholder farmers have taken to growing it in mushroom houses under humid and fresh-air conditions.
This follows calls by the Government for smallholder farmers to diversify into various profitable enterprises of enhancing the concept of farming as a business.
In this vein, mushroom growing is one of the enterprises that some organisations are supporting.
One such organisation is the Smallholder Agribusiness Promotion Programme (SAPP), which is an International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) programme.
The programme through its matching grant facility, has so far disbursed K1,600,000 to various beneficiary groups that are viable in its project areas countrywide.
One of the beneficiary groups that has benefitted from the injection of funds amounting to K60,000 is the Maramba Mushroom Project in Livingstone.
Over the years, the project has made drastic strides in its entrepreneurial activity and at the same time has had, its own set of challenges.
The project’s existence dates back to 2008, when it was registered as a club with support from Agribusiness in Sustainable Natural African Plant Products (ASNIP), an International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) funded project.
The group started its activities as a club in 2008 and engaged in mushroom growing. ASNIP supported the group by constructing three shelters made of grass. These shelters were used as houses for growing mushroom according to the prevalent humid and fresh air conditions.
Maramba Mushroom Project chairperson Beatrice Kantini explained that the group started with a membership of 20 and worked in unity in achieving their objectives as a group.
They were fortunate to have the fervent support of ASNIP and more importantly, they already had market linkage to Sun International.
She said the group was selling their mushroom at K25 per kilogramme and their sales per month were at least K4,000 every month.
“We were very organised and enthusiastic about mushroom growing after a series of awareness and training meetings, which were very enlightening to us,” said Mrs Kantini.
She explained that the group was motivated even more because there was an already established market and ASNIP’s support in the progression of mushroom growing as an enterprise noting that the group was among the first one groups to seriously embark on mushroom growing and therefore had the full backing of ASNIP.
However, four years later, the group’s three shelters, which were made out of grass, were gutted by fire and this was after three years of successive mushroom production, which enabled the group to meet the local demand for mushroom.
Mrs Kantini recalls how one day, fire gutted the three shelters, leaving the group devastated.
“We just found the shelters had been gutted and the source of the fire was unknown, we did not know how the fire had started, resulting in our membership going down to seven as members became demoralised,” she said.
Speaking during the field visit, IFAD Resident Representative and Country Director Abla Benhammouche said she was impressed at the group’s progression in their mushroom growing enterprise despite the calamity that had befallen them at some point; they still managed to re-organise themselves and continue with their entrepreneurial activity.
“It was encouraging that the group was undergoing entrepreneurship trainings and related capacity building trainings that were tailored at boosting their viability as a group and also enhance linkage to possible markets,” said Benhammouche.
She encouraged the group to ensure they exploit possible markets once their mushroom production levels reach their peak.
SAPP programme manager Kwibisa Lywalii said during the field visit, that after assessing the group’s viability based on their proposal, the group was considered for the programme’s matching grant because it met the criteria of being an organised group with a minimum membership of 15 members and also had a viable business plan.
Mr Lywalii further said the group contributed 10 per cent contribution, which amounted to K7,000 towards the groups’ enterprise noting that the contribution was meant to enhance the group’s ownership and sustainability.
“The group has been involved in mushroom growing since 2011, thereafter applied for a matching grant to put up new mushroom structures after fire gutted the initial structures that the group had been utilising for growing their mushroom, which showed a high degree of committment,” said Mr Liywalii.
He lamented that the group was funded on the basis that they were in need of funds to put up a new structure to continue their mushroom enterprise and were already an organised group as their membership had increased from seven to 18 members and there was continuity.
He further said SAPP had also embarked on building capacity in the group through engaging trainers in mushroom production from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the University of Zambia.
And Livingstone District Marketing and Cooperative development officer Benjamin Mvula said the group was still a club, which was being earmarked to be registered as a multi-purpose cooperative society as it was also involved in gardening as well.
Mr Mvula emphasised that the focus should not only be one business venture but have several other enterprises to make it more viable and sustainable.
“A number of trainings have been conducted to enhance the group’s entrepreneurship base. And the group has been very proactive in their activities,” he said.
The progression of the Maramba Mushroom Project, is a success story that other groups need to take a leaf from.
It is therefore, envisaged that the support rendered to groups under SAPP’s matching grant facility, is meant to supplement the groups’ efforts and also enable them remain focussed in their enterprises, enhance market linkage and profitability.
It can be conclusively stated that groups need to engage in enterprises that are not only viable but self-sustaining, if the concept of farming as a business is to be attained in the long-term.— NAIS.