The Project coordinator, Mrs. Philomena Norman a Senior Business Advisor with the BAC of the NBSSI, in an interview with PROMUSH news, indicated the rationale for the birth of the Project.
She noted that the mushroom industry in the municipality though currently viable is saddled with many challenges; shortage in spawn production arising from the inability of the sole spawn producer in the country to produce enough for farmers to embark on commercial production levels.
The distance of the spawn laboratory from the municipality and the improper handling of spawn in transit generally affect the quality of spawns and the yield per bag. The absence of critical equipment such as humidifiers and general inadequate knowledge on mushroom production continue to affect production levels and yield of farmers in the municipality negatively. Also, the general inadequate support for mushroom production in the country including the Adentan municipality has also in a way dis-incentivised large scale production.
There is a continually high demand for freshly produced mushroom and bread produced from mushroom but producers are unable to meet current demands. Ghana imports mushroom to feed this deficit created. The low capital and technological requirements of the identified processing enterprises makes it increasingly viable for replication on a large scale.
The drying of mushroom before processing them into flour consumes huge quantities of mushroom produced and the expansion of processing enterprises such as the flour making enterprise calls for astronomical increases in production of fresh mushroom.
With growers earning a current average of GHC 4000, employing few growers currently , the project is expected to drive the industry to employ 5, 500 persons including 3000 females and 2500 males with both sexes having 30% as youth and 2% PWD respectively. Annual incomes are also projected to hit GHC 30,000 by 2020. Persons With Disability (PWDs) will be employed to reduce their dependence on families and society.