ROURKELA: Come March, villagers of Fuldhudhi village under Ujjalpur range of Sundargarh Forest Division (SFD) will be engaging in mushroom cultivation to earn a livelihood instead of solely depending on forests.
Mostly members of the local Van Suraksha Samiti (VSS), around 60 per cent of families of the village within the forest will be taking up mushroom farming under Phase II of the Odisha Forestry Sector Development Project (OFSDP).
The initiative, which is under implementation only in SFD limits of Sundargarh, aims to revive defunct VSSs and reduce pressure on forests by building an alternative economic ecosystem for the traditional forest dwellers and other poor households.
Sources said it has been four years since Fuldhudhi, comprising 66 families with a population of 273, became part of the project along with 18 other villages and adopted mushroom cultivation. “As of now, 18 households including 13 ST families in the category of traditional forest dwellers have adopted paddy straw mushroom cultivation in Fuldhudhi,” said project officials.
In 2018, a 47-year-old tribal woman Bimala Chita was the first to be a part of the project by investing Rs 2,500 and earned Rs 4,500. As soon as the word spread, others followed suit with six more women earning Rs 34,000 in three months against an investment of Rs 16,000 each.
The number rose to 15 in 2021 who invested Rs 1.75 lakh and earned around Rs 5.7 lakh from selling mushrooms. Another woman Rebati Kalo, who engages in growing paddy straw mushroom from March to October, sells them for `240 per kg which retails at Rs 350 per kg. The farmers sell their produce through the local VSS centre and SHGs.
Contacted, Sundargarh DFO Pradeep Mirase said that he had recently visited the village and discussed ways to enhance yields and market support as this project would highly benefit SFD and poor villagers.