agriculture

Mushroom Production

[growing an exportable crop to allow Basotho farmers to profit]

[Summary & Motivation] [Community] [Specifications] [Issues] [Contacts] [Documents / Diagrams / Pictures]

Summary & Motivation	Project Initiator: ATS, under authority of Agriculture Ministry Start Date: 2005 Projected Completion Date: 2007 Current Status: Developing spore production facilities As a country with few exportable products, Lesotho is always looking for innovative ways to bolster its economic profile. South Africa is currently experiencing an inadequate supply of mushrooms for cooking, so it has started to import the fungi from neighboring countries. Lesotho's climate is apparently ideal for mushroom growing, so the government is looking for ways to increase the production of mushrooms. Through a partnership with the Chinese government, an ATS engineer had the opportunity to attend a training program on mushroom production in China. It was found that the main factors in production are temperature, light, and humidity, and mushrooms could be grown on local substrates. Five types of edible mushrooms were identified for production in Lesotho (Based on available conditions and local market conditions) - shittake, enoki, nameko, patty straw, and oyster (Grey, yellow, and king). In addition, a medicinal mushroom was also identified. Mushrooms of the family garnoderma are known for their cure-all medicinal properties, helping with cancer, high blood pressure, and many other medical ailments. ATS is currently developing a mushroom production house that could be used to grow the above types of mushrooms. The plans for building the huts, along with spores cultivated in a Maseru spawn production site, would be given to local entrepreneurs so that they can begin to grow their own fungi. [top]
Community	This technology would be initially distributed to local entrepreneurs who expressed in interest in growing exportable mushrooms. Once proven profitable, the spawn and plans could be sold as a kit. [top]
Specifications	Procedure can be understood by Basotho farmers Quality of mushrooms produced is high enough to be exported Initial cost to farmer is minimal Production house is locally constructable (Uses thatch or plastic) House maintains temperature, humidity, and lighting level House allows transfer of oxygen and carbon dioxide Production can occur in both summer and winter [top]
Issues	Over eight months at ATS, a model thatch shelter was constructed for testing purposes. While no spores have yet been seeded, the project engineers are continuing to improve on the construction of the shelter. Help is needed in the following areas: Evaluating the cost and quality differences of producing mushrooms in a house made of thatch versus one made of plastic. Sizing windows and vents to allow for proper air flow and lighting. Developing a way of sorting the mushrooms based on quality. Maintaining the temperature and humidity at proper levels while also keeping cost low. [top]
Contacts	Project Leader: Thapelo Letete MIT Contact: Not available (If interested, please email mit_ats@MIT.edu) ATS Contact: Thapelo Letete <letelet@Yahoo.com> Website (If applicable):   [top]
Documents / Diagrams / Pictures	DOCUMENTS Description (Name) [Date] Download Food Technology Progress Report Contains section on mushroom production plan. Documents Mushroom Growing PowerPoint presentation with pictures that details typical growing process for mushrooms on the small-scale (T. Letete) [9.01.05] *.ppt (23 MB) Mushroom Project Synopsis Explains Lesotho's detailed plan on implementing mushroom production at a local level in rural villages (T. Letete) [9.01.05] *.doc (7.8 MB) Mushroom Phases and Benefits Explains the different phases of the implementation scheme and the positive results each phase will have on the Basotho (T. Letete) [9.01.05] *.doc (0.5 MB) Estimated Mushroom Project Costs Budget for mushroom project, given in local Lesotho currency (T. Letete) [9.01.05] *.doc (0.3 MB) Mushroom Ganntt (OLD) Old Ganntt chart which was developed at start of mushroom production project. No adherence (T. Letete) [9.01.05] *.xls (0.2 MB) DIAGRAMS Description (Name) [Date] Download Modified Nokokonono Stove Stove to be used to heat growing medium, killing all microorganisms in preparation for adding spores (T. Letete) [12.24.04] *.html (Link) PICTURES Description (Name) [Date] Download Mushroom Hut Three picture of thatch hut built at ATS as a proper environment for growing mushrooms to be exported (M. Zedler) [8.30.05] *.html (Link) [top]

*.pdf - Portable Document File / *.doc - Document (Microsoft Word) / *.xls - Spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel ) / *.jpg - Joint Photographic Experts Group (Browser) / *.zip - WinZip Compressed File (WinZip)

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