Mushroom cultivation to get budgetary support in Punjab

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked the Planning department to include mushroom cultivation in the next annual plan so that budgetary support can be provided to it and announced several other steps to promote its farming.
He directed the Financial Commissioner Cooperation (FCC) and MD Markfed to fix Minimum Support Price for mushroom at Rs 70 per kg and provide market support to the growers.
He asked the Additional Chief Secretary (Dev) and FCC to take up with NABARD and state level bankers' committee the issue of advancing loans to the growers at interest applicable to agricultural loans.

The Principal Secretary Housing and Urban Development was asked to do away with the practice of issuing land use change certificate to the mushroom-growers. As it's an agriculture activity the formality was not required, he said.
Likewise, he asked the secretary Power, and Chairman PSPCL to ensure uninterrupted supply at Agriculture Power (AP) Tariff on the pattern of AP High density farming.
Activities like composting, spawning and production would also be included in mushroom cultivation, he said, adding it was also decided to give subsidy on the compost.

In the first phase, 1,000 cultivators would be given 40 per cent subsidy, with a cap of minimum 200 bags and maximum 1,200 bags (10 kg compost per bag).

Also, the CM directed the Additional Chief Secretary (Dev), to prepare a revised proposal to set up a Centre of Excellence, equipped with a state-of-the-art laboratory to undertake research in hi-tech compost, casing and spawning in mushroom cultivation, at Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana.
He asked the PAU VC to launch a three-month course on quality production as he approved sending a joint delegation of growers, varsity experts and state horticulture department officers to China and Netherlands to acquire latest technical knowhow of spawn canning.
He directed the Chairman, Punjab Pollution Control Board to exclude activities of compost and cultivation of mushroom from its ambit as those were agricultural activity.