Production of edible and medicinal mushrooms: New direction in Tan Ky

(Baonghean) - Right next to Ho Chi Minh road in the western part of Nghe An, there is a farm producing edible and medicinal mushrooms, creating regular jobs for dozens of farmers... this mushroom farm is a model that many households are learning and replicating.

Visiting the mushroom model of the two families Chu Van Hoi and Chu Van Dong, in Luu Xuan hamlet, Ky Tan commune (Tan Ky), we saw that their 2,000 bags of mushrooms were being cared for in a closed camp with a guaranteed watering system. Mr. Hoi said that before receiving the bags of mushrooms, both families were trained in mushroom growing techniques, then invested about 1.5 million VND to buy materials to build a house. Both husband and wife actively cared for the mushrooms with the right techniques, so the mushrooms grew strongly. The family harvested the first batch, dried them and weighed 40 kg. The second batch of mushrooms is growing well... It is known that these families have learned and followed the mushroom growing model from An Ha Biological Joint Stock Company.

Packing reishi mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms with automatic machine.

Following the instructions of the local people, we came to An Ha Biological Joint Stock Company in Ky Son Commune (Tan Ky) on a day of heavy rain, many workers, mainly women, were still busy producing mushrooms in a factory made of steel columns and covered with corrugated iron roofs. Each person had a job, scooping raw materials into the mixer, operating the seed bagging machine, taking care of and harvesting mushrooms... It is known that this is a project to produce seeds, cultivate and process edible and medicinal mushrooms on an industrial scale in Nghe An province, invested by the Ministry of Science and Technology, nearly 4 billion VND, implemented by An Ha Biological Joint Stock Company since 2011.

Raw materials used to produce mushrooms are mainly sawdust and cotton. With a daily capacity of packing at least 4,000 mushroom bags, the volume of sawdust and cotton is up to tens of cubic meters. Therefore, the company orders sawdust from wood processing factories throughout the region, and cotton from Vinh Fiber Factory. The material used for packing depends on the type of mushroom. For lingzhi and wood ear mushrooms, sawdust is used entirely, while oyster mushrooms must be mixed with cotton. This bagging machine is only used for packing lingzhi and wood ear mushrooms, while oyster mushrooms must be packed manually. After a bagging session, workers transport the bags to the sterilization oven.

The mushroom bags are placed in iron cages, 16 bags per cage, placed on iron racks, 24 cages per rack, and pushed into the steamer by rails. After steaming, each rack is pushed out, which is both productive and less laborious for the workers. The sterilization furnace uses steam heat, and can process 4,000 mushroom bags per batch. When the temperature in the furnace reaches 1000C, until the end of a batch, it lasts from 9 to 12 hours (depending on the type of mushroom). After sterilization, the mushroom bags are transferred to the ultraviolet treatment furnace, then taken out to be inoculated, and hung in a tightly covered roof, preventing rainwater from entering. During the care process, clean water is used to spray the mushroom bags daily, creating moisture for the mushrooms to germinate.

Ms. Linh, a technical officer, said that the dried wood ear mushroom products are imported to Hanoi in large quantities, so out of the 160,000 bags of mushrooms hanging, nearly 2/3 are wood ear mushroom bags, followed by lingzhi mushrooms. As for oyster mushrooms, the main consumption market is in Vinh City and mountainous districts in the province, with a daily consumption of 200 kg or less, so there has not been much investment. With oyster mushrooms, it is necessary to harvest them at the right time when they are young to ensure quality, so they are harvested every day. Wood ear mushrooms, after 4 months, are harvested once. Currently, the unit is experimenting with growing some high-quality mushrooms such as long-legged mushrooms, monkey head mushrooms (medicinal), chicken thigh mushrooms and straw mushrooms. With a variety of edible and medicinal mushrooms, the company has products for sale in every season, ensuring quality.

Mushroom Harvesting

The team of workers working regularly at the mushroom farm are paid according to their skill level. Those who are skilled, responsible, and committed to the company are paid 5 million VND/month, while those who are new to the job are paid nearly 3 million VND/month. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy is a regular worker here, saying that she works for the company 8 hours a day and is paid 100,000 VND/day. Her job is to pack, care for, and harvest mushrooms, and prepare mushrooms for customers. Although not hard work, it requires people to be careful and follow the correct technical process to ensure quality standards.

Seeing the effectiveness of producing edible and medicinal mushrooms at An Ha Biological Joint Stock Company, at the end of 2014, Tan Ky District People's Committee had a policy to support 25 families in Ky Son commune to grow mushrooms, with the aim of creating jobs and increasing income for farmers. Each family was supported by the district with 100% of the cost to buy 1,000 bags of mushrooms, and the family invested in building a house to hang the bags. The product is wood ear mushrooms, after being harvested and dried, the company will purchase the product.

The scale is getting bigger and bigger, the variety of edible mushrooms, medicinal mushrooms is rich, the products are always guaranteed in quality, the consumption market is getting wider and wider, making the mushroom growing profession in Tan Ky land more and more effective. Therefore, Tan Ky District People's Committee considers this as one of the sustainable professions, according to the goal of the new rural construction program.

Xuan Hoang