Developing fungiculture: selecting new varieties with high values

Bravely investing in production infrastructure and following advanced technical procedures, many households in Bac Giang province have created high-grade mushrooms or those grown all year round, meeting the market demand. These models are drawing the attention of the agricultural sector, which plans to expand them in the coming time.

Cordyceps roberti cultivation area of Than Van Ly’s household in Tien Phong commune (Yen Dung district).

The cordyceps roberti farm of the family of Than Van Ly in Yen Son village, Tien Phong commune (Yen Dung district) makes visitors really impressed. The fungus growing area is equipped with modern machineries such as air conditioner, sprinkler system and blower. The fungi are put in glass jars and placed on trays to ensure absolute sterilization.

Ly said that this is a kind of fungus known as "the panacea". They have many uses but farming is not easy. Through an experienced friend who provided technical training for him, at the end in 2016, his family bravely invested in cultivating cordyceps roberti with 7,000 jars. 

Last year, he sold nearly 10 kilos of dried fungi (100-150 million VND or 4,200 -6,400 USD per kg) and thousands of jars of seedlings, earning total revenue of more than 1.8 billion VND (over 77,200 USD). Currently, in addition to supplying dried and fresh fungi, his facility provides fungi soaked in alcohol and fungus powder for convenient use.

Under the province’s goal, by 2020, high-grade mushrooms will occupy more than 70 percent of the locality’s total mushroom production. The province will build seven mushroom production models using high technology and establish 12 mushroom production cooperatives.

Besides the "panacea" cultivation, the province also has 15 high-tech mushroom models, mainly in the districts of Viet Yen, Lang Giang and Hiep Hoa. For example, the household of Ngo Dinh Hai in Dao Ngan 2 village, Quang Chau commune (Viet Yen district) grows mushrooms in cold houses. 

On an area of over 2,500 sq.m, the facility has 10 cold houses with mushroom frames; material storehouses, breeding rooms and means of sterilization to ensure the hygiene. Thanks to that, the facility provides a variety of mushrooms to the market throughout the year, earning more than 1 billion VND per year.

According to the Sub-Department of Plant Cultivation and Protection (the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development), among annual crops, mushrooms take the lead in terms of profit. 

Moreover, mushrooms are favored because they have no toxic chemicals and meet the requirements of food safety and hygiene. Therefore, the province’s project to restructure the agricultural sector in the direction of raising the added value and promoting sustainable development in 2015-2020 identified that fungus is one of the main agricultural products.

The province strives to achieve an output of 10,000 tonnes of fresh mushrooms by 2020, doubling that in 2015, earning over 250 billion VND (10.7 million USD) in revenue. To realize this goal, the province has launched a project to support the development of mushroom production and consumption associated with the application of high technology in the 2016-2020 period. Up to now, three models have been accepted and received financial support according to regulations.

Investment in modern facilities for mushroom production has minimized dependence on the weather, helping households earn a higher income. However, in reality, it is not easy to expand the model of hi-tech mushroom cultivation because it requires large investment while consumption markets are not stable yet.

Nguyen Huu Hiep, an official in charge of mushroom growing technique at the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, analyzed that the main mushroom product of Bac Giang is oyster mushroom with the normal type priced at 20,000-26,000 VND per kg on average. This kind is easy to grow but just seasonal, with short usage time. 

Other fungi such as King oyster mushroom, enoki mushroom, jade gill mushroom or cordyceps roberti need large capital, with consumers being good income earners. Thus, if there is no link in production, growers face high risks. To grow new varieties of mushrooms with high quality and regular harvest, the key factor is the link in consumption, together with paying attention to product packaging and labeling.