Lucrative switch from rubber to mushroom

PADANG TERAP: Ismail Ibrahim ventured into cultivating Volvariella two years ago and is now reaping the benefits of a mushrooming business.

The 62-year-old rubber smallholder is in the business of cultivating a species of edible mushroom reportedly grown throughout East and Southeast Asia and used extensively in Asian cuisines.

He is earning RM3,000 to RM4,000 a month from his harvest, a far cry from the RM1,000 he used to make tapping rubber.

Low prices for rubber drove him to cultivate the Volvariella mushroom in a section of his 0.3-hectare rubber smallholding in Kampung Musa in the Mukim of Pedu, heeding a government call for rubber smallholders to find other means of generating an income.

“I ventured into mushroom farming as I did not want to depend entirely on rubber because the price has been hovering at RM2.10 per kg. Furthermore, it is easier to grow mushrooms compared to rubber,” he told Bernama.

Ismail said he uses oil palm waste to grow the mushrooms which is ready for harvest in two months, with the farm yielding between 15 kg and 20 kg of mushrooms daily.

His initial capital was just RM1,000. The Volvariella mushroom fetches RM10 per kg ex-farm and RM15 per kg retail.

Ismail said his mushrooms are in demand at restaurants and among fellow villagers.

In view of the mushrooming business, he intends to enlarge the area in his smallholding next year.

“Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), the Padang Terap District Agriculture Department has given me much assistance and support in the form of tools and promotion of this genus of mushroom,” he said. Padang Terap District agriculture officer Mohamad Yuzaidi Azmi said the Volvariella genus of mushroom was introduced in 2015 to rubber smallholders as an alternative crop to improve their income.

So far, 12 smallholders are active mushroom farmers in the district and earn good incomes that has improved their livelihood, he said.

“I suggest that interested smallholders come and meet the officers at the agriculture office to discuss mushroom farming,” he added.

I ventured into mushroom farming as I did not want to depend entirely on rubber because the price has been hovering at RM2.10 per kg. Furthermore, it is easier to grow mushrooms compared to rubber. — Ismail Ibrahim