One-day off-campus training cum demonstration programme on “Paddy straw mushroom farming as a profitable enterprise for promoting self-reliance (Atmanirbhar) and nutritional security” was organized under Farmer FIRST Project of the Institute in adopted cluster consisting of three villages, namely, Haridamada, Jamujhari and Barapita of Khordha district, Odisha on 7th November, 2024. A total of 75 farmer trainees actively participated in the programme. Dr. S.K. Mishra, Principal Scientist and PI of the project briefed about types of edible mushrooms, commercial aspects of mushroom production and cultivation practices of paddy straw mushroom. Dr. B.S. Satapathy, Senior Scientist and Co-PI discussed the importance of mushroom production, nutritional values and its benefits in ensuring nutritional security of families and in generating additional family income to support their livelihoods. Later, a live demonstration was conducted to impart experiential learning to the participants on preparing scientific mushroom beds. As critical inputs, 300 mushroom spawn bottles and polythene sheets were provided benefiting 75 farmers and farmwomen. The programme was assisted by Ms. Isha Anindita Sahoo, SRF and Mr. Sivaprasad Mohanta, Field Assistant of the project.
