Dilomat Boss Tasks RSG On Mushroom Production

The Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Dilomat Farms Limited, Pastor Moore Chinda, has called on the Rivers State government to embrace mushroom production as a means of creating employment in the State.
Chinda who spoke to our correspondent in his office in Port Harcourt on Monday said apart from the economic benefits, the state stands the chance of being an exporter of the crop.
According to him, the state could take advantage of being a leader in mushroom production since his firm has been able through research to scientifically produce the seed (spawn) which grows the mushroom since 2003.
He said as an individual from  Rivers extraction it was imperative for the state government to take the lead.
The Diplomat boss said his research was based upon a vision for national development in view of the country’s Vision 202020.
Chinda said the state would be at an advantage position because mushroom production does not require large expanse of land to operate as compared to other food and cash crops.
He said since government was known to acquire large portion of land for development projects, in the case of mushroom cultivation, it would be an advantage to the state given the limited, availability of available land for the state’s agricultural sector.
“In fact, considering our limited land mass for agricultural activities, mushroom production can be considered  a sine qua non for a sustainable agricultural policy for Rivers State.
“This is because  in terms of yield for any given space of land, there is no agricultural production to compare with mushrooms all over the world”.
Explaining  further he said since mushroom production was not stressful it was a veritable vehicle for women empowerments.
He said the process of muchroom production was devoid of the obsolete use of hoes, machetes and other farming implements that were tasking.
Chinda listed other benefits to include the conversion of mushroom waste to organize manuere as an option for fertiliser for crops.
With the emergence of the expected boom in the mushroom industry, Chinda explained that research opportunities for universities and other institutions especially on tropical mushrooms was yet another benefit.
He also called on individuals and corporate organizations to avail themselves of the moderate amounts needed in acquiring mushrooms production skills.
He said this was capable of curbing youth restiveness, sustaining and keeping retirees in the society busy amongst other benefits.