As Indian agriculture evolves, mushrooms have risen as an unexpected champion. Here is a selection of inspiring individuals who quit their traditional jobs to follow their passion for mushroom farming.
1. Hiresha VermaIn 2013, after the Kedarnath floods, Hiresha left her IT job in Delhi to help women affected in Uttarakhand. She started with mushroom farming due to the region's favourable weather and invested Rs 2,000 to start experimenting at home.
Hiresha’s farm now produces 1,000 kg of mushrooms daily and earns Rs. 1.5 crore annually. She has empowered over 2,000 women, increasing their incomes by 30% and improving their social status. She also founded Han Agrocare to retail their produce across India.
2. Shanker MeenaBorn into a farming family in Rajasthan, Shanker followed his passion for agriculture despite his father's wish for him to pursue a corporate career. In 2012, he left his MBA midway and returned to his home in Rajasthan.
Moved by the hardships his father faced as a farmer, Shanker founded ‘Jeevan Mushroom’ in 2017. His company now produces 80 tonnes of mushroom spawns monthly, generating Rs 13 lakh in revenue.
3. Nidhi KatareIn 2016, Professor Nidhi Katare’s world was turned upside down when the college she taught at was shut down. Devastated, instead of accepting offers from other colleges, she started ‘Natural Bio Impact and Research Pvt Ltd’ in 2017 to pursue her passion for farming.
Despite initial challenges, Nidhi persevered, establishing a lab in her ancestral house. Today, she produces 1,000 kg of spawns monthly, selling to 150 farmers across different states and earning Rs. 1.5 lakh per month.
4. Rohhaan GawdeRohhaan noticed that only button mushrooms were popular in the market, despite the availability of many other varieties. So, when he attempted to introduce oyster mushrooms in 2014, people questioned if they were even mushrooms. After quitting his job, he started his own venture, The Mushroom Company, growing mushrooms organically.
Today, Rohhaan operates three facilities, cultivating a variety of mushrooms including Shiitake, Grey, Pink and Blue Oyster, King Oyster, Ganoderma, Milky Mushrooms, Lion’s Mane, and Reishi. He earns a profit up to Rs 2 lakh per month.
5. Adam Shamsudeen and Raeesa Manaal
After working for several years as software engineers, Adam and Raeesa turned to sustainable living by starting a mushroom farming venture. Their startup, ‘GrowtheFunguy’, is a comprehensive platform designed to help people grow mushrooms and make a living from it.
Currently, they collaborate with over 300 farmers growing various mushrooms, offering grow kits, supplements, and nutrients to boost yield. They also provide an AI-driven chatbot, FungAI, to answer people’s queries about mushroom farming.