Eight years ago, a rubber tapper from Kampung Musa here decided to farm the Volvariella mushroom, also known as straw mushroom or palm mushroom, to generate extra income due to the uncertainties in rubber prices.
Ismail Ibrahim, 67, said he could earn up to RM3,000 monthly selling mushrooms compared to about RM1,500 tapping rubber. "I started cultivating mushrooms in 2016 in my rubber plantation to generate extra income due to the uncertainties in rubber prices at that time. "What I like about this crop is it can be harvested in less than a month," he told Bernama recently.
Ismail, named the first runner-up in the Agricultural Technology Innovation Award (Farmer's category) last year, said he ventured into mushroom farming after being introduced to the crop by the Padang Terap District Agriculture Department in 2015 as an alternative crop to generate income.
Cultivating the mushrooms under six tents covering an area of about 464.5 meters, Ismail said his plot could produce at least 180kg of Volvariella mushrooms per cultivation cycle, which lasts three to four months.
Read more at malaymail.com