19/07/2020
Mushroom farming is more of a business than farming itself
It is always very easy for people to be enticed to start-up mushroom business because of the financial rewards enjoyed when you do everything right. Well, we forget that the person introducing the business is an experienced mushroom farmer who understands not only the farming side but also the business around the mushrooms and that's where many fail after a few months of venturing into the business. I wish there is another way of putting it but it is not a bed of roses, that after investing your initial capital, you'll just sit back and things happen. No, that's the wrong perception of this business. Instead, you'll be required to put in a lot of effort especially when you've just started. Just like they say the beginning part is always the hardest the same principle applies here and in any other business. My main intention of writing this article is not to scare you but instead to arm you before you start and also to lift up those who have tried the business and failed because they didn't know how to go about certain challenges they met on their journey in the mushroom business. I have identified a few areas to consider putting a lot of effort as you are doing mushroom farming and with time you'll discovering personal ways of doing things better but that only comes through experience.
Things you need to consider to thrive in the mushroom business;
Marketing plan: Mushrooms are perishable goods and even before thinking of growing them, you need to know where you are going to sell them. Always do your own market research because it will always vary depending on the location in that some places the demand is higher than other places or in worst-case scenarios your products are not consumed in your area so you have to bring them where the market is. Normally, we look for the market in places like; hotels and restaurant, supermarkets, locals in your area, farmers' markets (as for now in Kampala, we have Nakasero market as the major mushroom buyer and they'll buy every quantity you bring if you make it to the market during their operational window; 5:00am - 7:00am every day including Sundays and public holidays), and wherever you can find market not forgetting your workplace for those working away from home.
Financial plan: Your main objective should be to make more money than you've invested unless you ventured into mushroom business for personal consumption. To achieve this, you need to plan your finances well before starting, take an example when we say you need to start with 100 gardens @3000/- that is roughly 300,000/-; this can't be the only money you need, this is just for the gardens how about transporting them to your place, putting up the structure, etc. and those other expenses that come along when your are just starting a business. The thing is when you have finished making you financial plan, have some extra money to further invest, why, it's just a plan the realty is full of surprises.
Production plan: Look at it like you are running a factory producing products and these products are the mushrooms themselves. Once buyers discover you produce mushrooms, they will expect to find them every time they need them, and trust me it's not easy to meet the demand in this business. There are things we need to put into consideration at the very beginning and one of them is that mushrooms don't grow every day on the same garden but you will have something to harvest every day from your farm because you'll be harvesting from different gardens every time you harvest. The logic here is that for you to have a meaningful supply, you need to have relatively enough gardens to harvest from daily and for consistency add more gardens to your farm at least on a monthly basis. The best practice would be every after two weeks, there you’ll be having mushrooms daily and your supply will be consistent. There is a tendency of gardens going into recess (it takes about 7-14 days for the mushrooms to grow again from the same spot), but if you keep adding new gardens periodically, you will hardly notice this recess effect.
Always sell to maximize profits and this is achieved by selling to the final consumer e.g. your neighbors, workmates, friends, etc. Only sell to middlemen, these include; supermarkets, farmers' markets, restaurants, and hotels only if you are producing in bulk. The minimum price for you to sell your mushrooms should be 5,000/- per kg of fresh mushrooms but depending on where you are selling some placing are willing to pay more especially if you meet their desired quality and also when you put in an extra effort like packaging, transportation, etc. add those expenses to the price your selling.
Always strive to meet the demand, that way your mushroom business should be demand-driven and you will minimize losses due to lack of market. Start small and grow with your market. It's better for the demand to be high than for you to produce excess mushrooms which can't be consumed immediately, the process of preservation comes at an extra cost in terms of labor and money.
You must keep records for your mushroom business. This way you’ll be able to know how you’re progressing in the business. The books, in this case, are both financial (to determine your financial position; are you making profits or losses) and production books (for scalability purposes of whether to increase or to reduce production). Become your own teacher by learning from your mistakes but if you don't keep records you might never know them.
I might want to transfer all the knowledge I have concerning mushrooms but every master leaves something for himself not intentionally but somethings you won't learn unless you try. There will be a need for you to constantly research the mushroom business by reading about them, visiting other mushroom farmers, attending mushroom training, learning through experience, etc.
For now, think about that but the best is yet to come. Keep on reading and sharing my articles and for more information, you can contact me on 0754572023 or WhatsApp on 0775211461.
