Impact of skill development residential training on mushroom production & processing technology in Bihar

Introduction

Poverty, malnutrition and unemployment are the basic problems prevailing in rural India. The poor farmers-"the producer of food" are still under fed and under nourished leading to malnutrition mainly due to their low family income. Due to small land holdings, their agricultural land cannot provide the complete food security and year-round employment. All these problems can be partly tackled if mushroom cultivation is promoted as it capable to provide nutritious food, income as well as employment. Mushroom Production, a component of diversification in an agriculture, may open a new vista for the promotions of agricultural entrepreneurs, new avenue of livelihood, cheaper nutritional source, additional income and eco-friendly adoptable technology for unemployed rural masses migrant worker and weaker sections of society. Many efforts were made to uplift the economy of above groups and encouraging results were obtained. The mushroom production is a lowcost intervention (Kheti Bina Khet Ke). Hence, the unemployed youth and weaker section of the society can utilize agro waste for mushroom production for income generation and avoid the environmental pollution, besides, protection from malnutrition and chronic diseases. Other hand these mushroom (Oyster, Button, Milky and Paddy Straw) are used as vegetable in food and Shiitake, Shitake, (Lion's mane), Ganoderma, Auricularia and Pholiota are medicinal mushroom and used as medicinal mushroom and used as medicine in other countries (China and Japan) as nutraceuticals & Pharmaceuticals. No work has been done in India on these medicinal mushrooms. The technology for round the mushroom cultivation under natural condition have been developed and dissemination in Bihar. The adopted mushrooms are oyster, button, milky, paddy straw, shiitake and hericium mushroom (medicinal mushroom) which resulted the mushroom production Bihar is the number 1 mushroom producing state with a production of around 35.6 thousand tonnes and 11% share in total production figure. Second to that is Odisha with around 34.5 thousand tonnes of production followed by Maharashtra (32.5 thousand tonnes), Uttar Pradesh (23.4 thousand tonnes), and Uttarakhand (22.4thousand tonnes) under natural condition as climatic condition of Bihar is most suitable for round the year mushroom production (10-38 0 C). Mushroom production technology opened new avenue of livelihood, cheaper nutritional and medicinal source, additional income and ecofriendly adoptable technology to unemployed rural masses and weaker sections of society (SC&ST). Training plays a pivotal role for enhancing the competence of www.extensionjournal.com extension functionaries through diffusion of innovations at actual workplace (Meena and Singh, 2012) [2] . Transfer of technology is main obstacle in realizing agricultural potential in India (Singh et al., 2014) [13] . Improved agricultural technologies even when as technically sound is of limited value if they are not accepted by the farmers. New agricultural technologies developed and transferred by the conventional research and extension efforts, have not been adopted uniformly by the farmers operating under widely varying agro-climatic and socioeconomic environments when adequate attention is not paid to the agro-climatic and socio-economic milieu in which the farmers operate (Kumar et al., 2012) [1] . In Bihar crop productivity trends have been below the Indian average for most cereal crops, and far below their potential yield, even after Bihar's fertile land and water resources. About 85 percent of the farmers are small marginal but sharing only 50 per cent of the land. The 80% of operational farm holdings in India as well as in the eastern India is less than one hectare. Integrated farming system is a reliable way of obtaining high productivity with substantial nutrient economy in combination with maximum compatibility and replenishment of organic matter by way of effective recycling of organic residues/wastes etc. obtained through integration of various land-based enterprises. (Kumar et al., 2012) [1] The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has been responding to the contemporary challenges and other issues of Indian agriculture through various initiatives. Indian To conduct survey for naturally occurring wild edible mushrooms with a view to identify and catalogue the edible species as well as for exploring possibilities of promising strains. To evaluate the promising and high yielding strains received from Directorate of Mushroom Research, Chambaghat, Solan (HP) stock for regional adaptability. To carry out multi-location trial for finalization of standard production techniques for increasing yield of different edible mushrooms. To explore possibility of selection of cheaper agro waste available locally for substrate, compost and casing. To supply good quality spawn to the mushroom growers. Popularization of mushroom cultivation on large scale through trainings and demonstration. Commercial production of button mushroom. take the latest agricultural technologies to the farmers and end users by making provisions for multidisciplinary team of scientists in each Agricultural University/ KVKs& government official. As an institution, University/ KVK& other government offices are playing strategic role in technology back-stopping, knowledge management and advisory to various stake holders like farmers, farm women, rural youths and extension personnel. Training and demonstration are integral part of Advance Centre of Mushroom Research RPCAU, Pusa. Advance Centre of Mushroom Research RPCAU, Pusa playing an important role in encouraging rural farmers and farm women to take up simple and quick income generating enterprises from where they can earn additional income. Cultivated mushrooms have now become popular all over the world. Mushroom cultivation can directly improve livelihoods through economic, nutritional and medicinal contributions. Mushroom is a popular food due to their special flavour, nutritive value and medicinal properties. Mushrooms are a good source of vitamin B, C and D, including niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, and folate, and various minerals including potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron and copper. (Shahi et al., 2018) [4] . However the gap between technology developed/released and the technology disseminated/adopted is quite wide (Singh and Shekhar, 2015) [7] . 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. Mushroom production has become one of few enterprises which rural women of Bihar has adopted in big way both at household level and as commercial enterprise as a source of income generation after the proper dissemination of technology through AICRP on mushroom under ACMR, RPCAU, Pusa As of today, there are limited research studies conducted to evaluate performance of AICRP on mushroom in order to analyze quality of working and ultimately impact on farming community. Therefore, the attempt was made to assess the Impact of Mushroom Production Technology Training on Knowledge and adoption of Rural Youth.

Collection of Data

A questionnaire was developed to gather general information and background details of the participants, including their land holding. Prior to the training program, a pre-evaluation test was conducted to assess the participants' existing knowledge levels regarding cultivation techniques, spawn preparation, substrate preparation, marketing, preservation, value addition, and other related aspects. The training program provided comprehensive instruction on various aspects of mushroom production. Following the completion of the training course, a post-evaluation was conducted to evaluate the knowledge acquired by the trainees and the effectiveness of the training. To assess the trainees' knowledge, a set of 20 questions related to mushroom production, nutrient content, different www.extensionjournal.com mushroom products, storage, Value addition harvesting and marketing were used. The deviation or gain in knowledge was calculated by comparing the scores obtained in the preand post-training knowledge tests.

Preparation of Subtracts

wheat straw, wheat seeds, potato, Agar, Agar plates, Sprit Lamp, polythene bags, cooking utensils, spawns and polythene sheets were the materials used for mushroom spawn and cultivation.

Results and Discussion

Socio-economic profile: The participants exhibited variations in their socio-economic status, including education, occupation, landholding, and annual income, as in Table 1. The findings indicated that 52 percent of the participants were female, while 48 percent were male. The age range of the participants was up to 18 years, with the majority (46.28%) falling in the 31-40 age group (33.14%), followed by those below 30 years (46.28%) and above 40 years (20.57%). In terms of caste, 43.42 percent of the participants belonged to the Backward Caste, followed by the SC/ST (24%). Regarding education, 05.57 percent had completed senior secondary level education, 32.57 percent were matriculate and 14.28 percent held Graduates. In relation to occupation, 33.71 percent were farming backgrounds., 21.41% from business, 12.57 percent came from a housewife and only 16.5 percent were from the service class but majority ware 28.57 percent students most curious. Additionally, it was observed (Table 1) that some participants (23.43%) had small landholdings, with a few (13.71%) falling under the small farmers category. Mostly, 50.85 percent of the participants were landless, indicating that mushroom farming does not require significant land, making it attractive for landless farmers to supplement their family income. The socio-economic factors influencing the adoption of mushroom cultivation did not exhibit consistent relationships with each other. Age was found to have no significant association with the adoption of mushroom Production. [6] , The 14.86% few participants to learn about developed value added products from mushroom indicating that the majority of participants joined the training course with the intention of adopting mushroom cultivation as an enterprise and increasing their knowledge level. To adopt the skill of mushroom growing to self employed 48 27.43 II 3.

Impact of Skill Development Training on Mushroom Production

To teach fellow farmers about mushroom growing 33 18.85 III 4.

To learn about developed value added products from mushroom 26 14.86 IV 5.

To learn about mushroom growing techniques for self-consumption 06 3.43 V

Increase in Knowledge Level

Pre-exposure and post-exposure scores were calculated for all sub-components of mushroom production (Table 3). [8] Impact of the training by knowing the adoption status of mushroom enterprise by the trainees, the problems faced by them in adoption of this enterprise and economic impact of adoption growers.

The satisfactory gain in knowledge can be attributed to the participants' educational backgrounds and their keen interest in the subject matter.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the study demonstrates that participants achieved a significant gain in knowledge through their exposure to training. Mushroom production proves to be an enterprise that does not heavily rely on land availability, allowing even landless farmers to generate additional income through mushroom cultivation. The awareness and training provided on mushroom production facilitated income and employment generation, nutrient supplementation, and profitable marketing opportunities among the participants.

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementThe authors would like to thank DMR, Solan (H.P), Director Research, RPCAU, Pusa, & Dr. Dayaram of the Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa for providing invaluable advice, cooperation, and providing excellent technical assistance during the spawn run and fruiting trials, without his support this study could not have been completed.

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