Wild about exotic mushrooms

A local domestic enterprise grew with the demand, writes

WHEN Ugan Pillay, 38, the owner of Valley Mushrooms began cultivating oyster mushrooms on his family farm in Cliffdale four years ago, he did it for his family to maintain a healthy diet.

Pillay said he supplied about 15 shops in Hillcrest, Phoenix and Chatsworth, including big retailers such as Spar and Oxford supermarkets.

He was brought up on the farm where his parents were vegetable farmers who specialised in growing green beans and coriander, but he opted to grow the exotic mushroom.

“I loved oyster mushrooms and so did my family. It is a delicacy and they were extremely scarce.

“I also had insight into the nutritional and environmental benefits of the product.

“I started growing the mushroom for my family’s consumption, as they contain statins which naturally lower cholesterol and this has been researched and documented worldwide,” Pillay said.

But the production on his 4 hectare farm was always more than his family could consume so he took them to the local market and that demand sparked the business opportunity.

Pillay has travelled to Thailand and India where he visited farms to hone his skills.

His business demand has helped to create more job opportunities for the people who live in the informal settlement near his farm.

Because of the growing demand, he has employed and trained 22 staff.

Pillay said his monthly harvest was about 2 to 3 tons.

His longterm goal is to export his produce.

“It is only mushrooms that I grow at the moment. I look forward to expanding and growing other varieties of exotic gourmet mushrooms, but that is in the pipeline for next year.

There is so much that I want to achieve in this business. Not many people understand the hard work and long hours we have to endure to get first grade mushrooms,” he said.

Pillay said he used agricultural waste or by-products as a substrate. This included straw, bagasse (from sugar care) or coffee grounds which were inoculated with the mycelium and left to spawn.

This process lasts four to six weeks and once the logs are fully colonised they are then ready to fruit (grow mushrooms).

Pillay said he had always seen himself as an entrepreneur and farming exotic