Mushroom farming in Nigeria is one of the most unexplored farming ideas in this era, the search for an alternative for seasonal vegetables as brought mushroom farming to the limelight.
Mushroom is a type of fungi that grows on decaying material or soil that are moist. Mushrooms do not require sunlight for their growth, this is one of the reasons mushrooms are typically grown in shades where they only have access to oxygen which is needed for survival.

Health benefits of mushroom
• Edible mushroom as lots of health benefits apart from been a source of good protein and been delicious mushroom is said to be used in weight loss programs.
• Mushroom helps in combating non-cancerous tumor
• Mushroom is a good source of protein most especially for the diabetic patient because they require low salt intake.
• Mushroom contains about 85-90% water, this makes them good for a healthy digestive system.
• Mushroom serves as antibiotics which can be used to prevent or treat illness like high blood pressure, hypertension, wounds, and tumor.

Types of mushroom in Nigeria

Mushroom is of various types, but there are four common ones namely chanterelles, shiitake, morels, and oysters.
a) Chanterelles– it is very rich in vitamins C, D, it also contains a high amount of potassium.
b) Shiitake– this is mostly found in Asian countries, it is widely known to reduce tumors
c) Morel– morels mushroom contains a high amount of vitamin c and antioxidant. It also helps to protect the liver from toxic materials.
d) Oysters– oyster mushroom helps to reduce the cholesterol level in the body, the oyster mushroom is said to have antibacterial and anti-oxidant properties and lots of amino acids.
How to build a mushroom growing house
To start Mushroom farming in Nigeria, there are few things to put in consideration. This include:
• Choosing a variety and medium
Choose a variety to cultivate, this can be based on your environment or target market. The medium to grow your mushroom can be sawdust, coco peat, log of wood etc.
• Prepare the substrate
This is the material which provides nourishment for a plant to grow. For the purpose of this blogpost, sawdust will be chosen as our substrate. Firstly, partially decompose the sawdust to make it less acidic, this is done for a few days and watered. Heat the substrate for a few minutes to sterilise it to kill all micro-organisms that could be competing with the mushroom for nutrient, allow to cool and bag them in polythene bags.
• Spawning
Next thing to do is to inoculate the substrate that has been sterilised with mushroom seeds also known as mycelium. This process can also be called “spawning”.
After the inoculation, the spawned bags are taken into the incubation room, which is usually dark, after 4-5weeks they are transferred into the growth room where the mushroom have access to light which helps to stimulate their growth. Ensure the polythene bags are stacked together to allow them sprayed with water to keep them moist.
Any selected medium must be free from micro-organism.

• Harvesting of Mushroom

Mushroom takes about 4-5weeks after incubation, after which it can be harvested every 24-36 hours. Once the mushroom is detached from the substrate or growing medium is ready to eat or it can be dried packaged for sale.

Mushroom Market in Nigeria

Mushroom are sold in kilogram or grams with varying prices depending on location, but on the average a kilogram of mushroom is between #4000- #7000 in Nigeria.

Mushroom Farming in Nigeria PDF