Oyster mushroom farmer Tawakevou Kurusiga of Vutia Village in Rewa had so much to say about the crop that is “so easy to grow anyone can do it”.
The 75-year-old was the face of local mushroom farmers in the China-Fiji Juncao Technical Cooperation Project booth at the Trade Exhibition of the People’s Republic of China in Fiji 2024, which opened at the Vodafone Arena in Suva on Thursday. “I started cultivating mushroom in 2018, paused during COVID, then in 2023, they (Juanco project) came to see me again, so I’ve been doing this for around six years now.
“I’d say mushroom is suitable for us iTaukei because the theme behind it is: ‘Don’t leave anyone behind financially’. Children can plant it, old people can plant it. I am now 75 years old and I’m planting mushroom. The youngest farmer at home is 13 years old. Even if you’re disabled, you can still plant mushrooms.”
Mr Kurusiga said mushroom takes only a week to harvest and take to market.
“You plant it on Monday and harvest the next Monday. It takes about eight days to mature,” he said.
He takes his harvest to the Suva market and sells it to Chinese market vendors at $15 a kilo.
A typical income from one harvest would be $380.
While easy to grow – Mr Kurusiga said he grows it beside his home in the village on soil where “nothing that we iTaukei eat can grow” – mushrooms are cultivated under controlled temperature and, since they are fungus by nature, are grown on special mediums.
This is where the special Chinese grass called Juncao comes in.
The China-Fiji Juncao Technical Cooperation Project has been instrumental in building up a community of local mushroom farmers in Fiji using Juncao grass as medium.
“We started this project in 2014 where we use Juncao grass to grow different edible and medicinal mushroom,” Professor Lin Xingsheng, team leader of the China-Fiji Juncao Technology Demonstration Center in Nadi told The Fiji Times.
“We also use Juncao grass to produce feed for livestock, we produce fertilizer from it and we also grow it to control the water in soil erosion.”
Professor Lin said mushroom was the perfect crop from which local farmers can make easy money.
“After getting the materials from us for free, then it only takes six to 10 days for them to harvest mushroom and get income.
The centre runs regular workshops for locals interested in growing mushroom.
