NEPAD invests in mushroom industry

Mushrooms can be a good source of income and only need a small, indoor area for cultivation
© Muy Yum/Flickr

The growing of mushrooms, either for consumption, sale or processing into high value medicinal products, is being promoted in southern Africa by NEPAD. Working in six countries, the SANBio Mushroom project works with farmers, supplying mushroom seed (or ‘spawn’) and training in production and processing methods. In Malawi, farmers have been introduced to commercial production of oyster and button mushrooms, while Namibia is focussing on growing mushrooms for the herbal medicine market. Moses Kwapata of Malawi’s Bunda College, and Cousins Gwanama, coordinator of the NEPAD programme, talk to George Kalungwe about the ongoing work to establish viable mushroom industries in southern Africa by 2015.