Srinagar: Farmers and local residents in Jammu and Kashmir are taking to mushroom farming in the hope of enhancing their incomes, and the state government is encouraging them in this endeavour through various initiatives.

Officials of the State Agricultural Department’s mushroom unit are visiting villages to promote public awareness and to educate farmers on mushroom cultivation.

Farmers are first trained, given certificates and later provided with bank loans for taking up mushroom farming.

"We go to the borders and ask people to grow mushrooms. People are now growing mushrooms. Seventy-eighty percent people are working on border area and earning good profits. Mushroom farming is low-cost affair. Farmers grow varieties of mushroom like Dhingri and European mushroom," said Balker Singh, a field officer of the department.

Many farmers, including those living near the international border, have said the venture has been very profitable.

"We have been doing mushroom farming for past two to three years. We bought seeds of mushroom for Rs.600 and within a month, we got Rs.6, 000 as an income. Our business is good and we expect it to get better. It's better to grow mushrooms than any other crop," said Purushottam Lal, a farmer.

Vegetable vendors and customers are also happy to sell and purchase mushrooms.

The state agricultural department has formed a separate wing called 'Krishi Vigyan Kendra' to educate both farmers and locals about the benefits of mushroom farming.

At present three types of mushroom are cultivated in India -- the white mushroom (Agaricus Bisporus), the paddy-straw mushroom (Volvariella Vovvacea) and the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus Sajor-Caju). Of these, the white mushroom is the most popular and economically sound to grow throughout the world