Impact of milky mushroom cultivation and value addition trainings among the unemployed Rural Youth of Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India

Introduction

Mushrooms, often referred to as "white vegetables" or "vegetarian meat," are highly nutritious foods containing significant amounts of proteins (20-35%), vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre. Due to their high nutritional value and medicinal properties, mushrooms have gained increasing importance in human diets as well as in incomegenerating activities for rural households. Among various species, milky mushroom (Calocybe indica) is a robust, fleshy, milky white, umbrella-shaped tropical mushroom known for its longer shelf life and higher market demand. Similarly, oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp.) are widely cultivated due to their adaptability, simple cultivation methods and good yield. Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh falls under the Krishna agro-climatic zone, where the mean temperature ranges from 24.3-30°C in January, while the maximum temperature during May can reach up to 46°C. Such a wide range of temperatures makes the region suitable for the cultivation of different mushroom species throughout the year. Paddy is the major crop grown in the district, covering an area of about 1.90 lakh hectares under the Krishna irrigation command area. As a result, large quantities of paddy straw are available, which serves as an excellent substrate for mushroom cultivation. Therefore, there is considerable scope for promoting tropical mushrooms such as oyster mushroom (Pleurotus spp.) and milky mushroom (Calocybe indica) in the district. Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Ghantasala, established in 2012, has been actively involved in technology transfer, capacity building, and skill development programmes for farmers, farm women, and rural youth. As part of its mandate, the KVK has been organizing skill development training programmes and demonstrations on mushroom cultivation. During the period 2019-2024, several training programmes were conducted to promote mushroom cultivation as an income-generating enterprise. For the present study, a total of 120 respondents who had undergone training and demonstrations on mushroom production techniques during 2019-2024 were randomly selected. The study aimed to assess the knowledge level and adoption behaviour of trainees regarding mushroom cultivation practices. The results indicated that the pretraining knowledge level of respondents was relatively low, whereas the post-training knowledge level improved significantly in all aspects of mushroom production. The improvement in knowledge level may be attributed to the keen interest of participants and the effective extension methods adopted for technology transfer during the training programmes. Further, some trainees adopted mushroom cultivation as a self-employment activity and established their own mushroom production units, earning an average monthly income of ₹35,000-40,000. A few mushroom entrepreneurs have also diversified into value-added products such as mushroom pickles and dehydrated mushrooms, thereby enhancing their income opportunities. The study revealed that mushroom production training programmes created a favourable attitude among the trainees and significantly contributed to improving the economic status of the beneficiaries who adopted mushroom cultivation as a livelihood option.

Methodology

For the present investigation, during 2025-26 vocational training programmes conducted during the years 2019-20, 2020-21, 2022-23, and 2023-24 for poor and marginalized farmers were considered for impact analysis. A total of 120 respondents were selected for the study. Out of these, 60 respondents were trainees (beneficiaries) who had participated in milky mushroom cultivation training programmes organized at KVK, Ghantasala between 2019 and 2024. These respondents mainly belonged to landless agricultural labour households and were selected using a random sampling method. For comparison and impact assessment, another 60 respondents who had not participated in the training programmes were selected randomly from six different villages in the district. These respondents also belonged to poor and marginalized sections of society and were engaged in mushroom production activities. Thus, the total sample size for the study comprised 120 respondents, including both trainees and non-trainees.

Results and Discussion

Training courses aim at enhancing adoption and diffusion of innovations. Some of the outcomes envisaged for any training programme were gain in knowledge, gain in skill acquired and ultimately in more adoption and integration among farming community. An important indicator of the impact of training programme is the extent, to which they have adopted the package of practice of mushroom cultivation technology. KVK, Ghantasala has been organized long and short duration training on Mushroom production both to rural youth and rural women. Mushroom production has become one of few enterprises which rural women of district has been adopted in at household level and as commercial enterprise as a source of income generation after the proper dissemination of technology through KVK.

Reasons of participation

The factors that motivated the respondents to join the training programme were ranked according to their perceived importance. Table 1 reveals Entrepreneur developed by farmer/ farm women According to the randomly selected ex-trainees included in the study, out of the 120 respondents, one of the women trainees, Smt. M. Prasanna from Aviripudi village, Movva mandal of Krishna district, started commercial production of milky mushroom. She sold a total of 30.7 quintals of mushrooms in the local market, as presented in Table 3.

During the year 2021, she established Abishek Mushroom Unit as a small start-up for milky mushroom cultivation with a financial investment of Rs. 4.00 lakhs, mobilized through her family members and DWACRA group. In the initial stages, the situation was very challenging, and she could earn only about Rs. 5,000 after deducting the cultivation expenses. However, with continuous effort and improvement in production practices, at present she gradually achieved turnover 3.9 lakh income. In recognition of her success, she received the Woman Entrepreneur Award on International Women's Day (08.03.2021) from the District Collector of Krishna district. The details of her production and financial benefits are presented in Table 3. She has also started value addition of Mushroom to overcome the problem of marketing. She established processing unit and successfully preparing mushroom product like, dry mushroom packaging, mushroom powder and other products and supply it to various nearby cities markets for consumption.

Conclusion

Training programmes and method demonstration are integral components of the KVK extension system. Krishi Vigyan Kendra plays an important role in motivating rural farmers and farm women to take up simple and quick income-generating enterprises through which they can earn additional income. The trainee respondents were highly inspired by the simple methods of mushroom cultivation. Mushrooms were also included in their daily diet, thereby improving their nutritional intake. After attending the training programme, the perception levels of the respondents regarding mushroom cultivation and its benefits improved considerably. The positive change in perception may be attributed to the educational background of the participants, their keen interest in learning, and the effective training methods adopted for technology transfer.

The training programme also provided an opportunity to strengthen the linkage between farmers and scientists, which facilitated effective technology dissemination and contributed to the overall development of the weaker sections of society. Further, it can be concluded that the regular supply of quality mushroom spawn remains one of the most important factors that needs to be ensured for the successful promotion and expansion of mushroom-based entrepreneurship and it is successfully achieved through trainings & demonstrations.

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