Limuru man discovers gold mine in mushrooming farming

James Karanja Ndung'u believes farming is a gold mine and an investment that one can never go wrong. After completing his diploma course in statistics and computer science at Moi University last year, he ventured into mushroom farming.

“I started by doing research and visiting as many farmers as I could. I also visited the Kenya Agriculture Research Institute for advice on mushroom farming. I was referred to a mushroom farmer in Limuru, Kiambu county, who was my good mentor. He is deceased now,” Ndung'u says.

He says for one to be competitive in farming, you have to update yourself with the latest information to keep abreast with new developments and markets.

Ndung'u says the process of growing mushrooms requires a lot of attention; they are grown under special conditions that call for the control of temperature, humidity and lighting. He notes that it is a tedious affair but is quick to add that nothing comes easy.

“I always had a misconception that when you are self employed, you can work less hours but since I started mushroom farming I work for 15 hours a day. I put so much time and energy on my work and I am now a full-time farmer. When I first started, I had no labourers to assist me and I would do everything from spooning, harvesting, to packaging and even taking the produce to the market before rushing back home to manage the crops. Sometimes I was forced to wake up as early as 2am. Today I have two trained permanent workers and two casual labourers but I still have to be there to check on things,” Ndun'gu says.

The first step involves compost making and it is a very delicate process, according to Ndung'u. It involves substrate preparation which is first soaked in water and left for two days.

“It takes an intensive five weeks to prepare substrate before you can spoon (plant) mushrooms. You have to keep watering the substrate and on the fourth day, you add chicken manure. Horse manure can also be used though it is not easily available. The manure provides the required nitrogen nutrients,” the button mushroom farmer explains.

After that it's left for another two days but you keep adding water. Urea is then added at this stage to increase the nitrogen in the substrate. Sunflower and molasseses are then added to provide fungi and a crippling medium for the mushrooms.

“It is again left for two days as water is added. After that it is moved to a shaded area to shelter it from rain because by now you want to start losing water from the substrate so that it can start decomposing. You keep turning the substrate every day but now no water is added. A nitrogen fertiliser (MOP) and lime are added to balance the PH within the substrate,” says Ndung'u.

Gypsum, a product from the mining companies, is added to absorb excess water since you do not want the substrate to be too sticky or too dry. The substrate is then sterilised to kill any worms or pathogens that might be present.

“Mushrooms grow on sterile environment and in a disease-free zone. Any contaminations can cause damage and affect the mushroom thus reducing the market value. Mushrooms are sensitize to any odour,

be it colognes or whatever, as it can cause discolouration of the mushrooms to brown or yellow and this is not good for the market — you want a white product,” said the resident of Rironi in Limuru.

The substrate is then taken to a sterile room for seven days where steam is used to heat it up to a temperature of about 60-65 degrees Celsius where no contamination can survive.

After that the substrate is ready for broadcast and it is put in bags and taken to the growing room which must be clean with a temperature of between 23 and 28 degrees Celsius.

He explains that when the mushrooms begin to grow, the temperature is lowered to 17-19 degrees to reduce the humidity.

After three to four weeks, the mushroom is ready for harvest. Mushrooms are highly perishable and they must be sold within the day of harvest.

Ndung'u says besides selling mushrooms in the form of buttons, one can also explore the option of drying them to make mushroom powder which is used to make soup.

“When I started out in July last year, I was buying substrate from other farmers but now I am able to prepare it for myself and ensure hygiene which is very crucial in mushroom farming. Even with this tedious and long process of making substrate, nothing goes to waste in this venture as once you have harvested all the mushrooms, the compost is used as fertiliser and the 'spoilt' buttons can be dried,” he adds.

Ndung'u admits it is a long and engaging process before he can harvest his mushrooms but it is worth the hardwork. In a good harvest, he can get about two tonnes of mushrooms worth between Sh1 million and Sh1.2 million within a period of three months.

He started with a capital of Sh230,000 and a few months down the line, he has made a return on his investment. He sells his button mushrooms in punnets at Sh150 each and in kilograms at between Sh500 and Sh600 per kilogramme.

His clientèle include hotels, supermarkets and individual customers. He recently extended his market to Uganda.

There is high demand for mushrooms in Kenya. The National Farmers Information Service data indicate that we are only producing 500 tonnes of mushrooms against an annual demand of 1,200 tonnes from homes and hotels.

Mushroom production is currently valued at Sh340 million and large scale producers account for over 95 per cent, most of which is button. Shitake, though not common in Kenya, is globally rated second after button. Oyster mushroom production is readily picking up because it is easy to grow, has higher yields and has more nutritional value than button.

“The returns are good and the demand for mushrooms is increasing. Kenya is leading in mushroom production in East Africa market. There is potential in mushrooms though it is very sensitive to the environment and one must observe proper hygiene to avoid infection,” Ndung'u says.

He adds that Kenyans have to learn to eat healthy to avoid lifestyle diseases and mushrooms are the way to go since they have more potassium.

“We have always been told to create employment for ourselves and others. I have embraced that and I have no doubt that mushroom business is sustainable,” he concludes.