Starting a business with black termite mushroom model

From pig farming facing many difficulties due to the epidemic, Ms. Tran Thai An, residing in Giong Lanh 1 hamlet, Go Cong Dong commune, Dong Thap province, boldly changed direction to start a business with the model of growing black termite mushrooms. Thanks to her perseverance in learning and determination to overcome difficulties, her model initially brought stable economic efficiency, opening a new direction for rural women.

Ms. An harvests black termite mushrooms on her family farm.

Previously, Ms. Tran Thai An's family specialized in raising pigs for meat, raising more than 100 pigs at a time. However, the African swine fever epidemic along with the Covid-19 outbreak caused losses in pig farming, and her family's economy fell into difficulty. During a visit to a relative in My Tho, Ms. An learned about the black termite mushroom growing model and began to learn about it.

Termite mushroom is a special, delicious, nutritious and rare mushroom with high economic value and large market demand. Realizing the potential, Ms. An decided to experiment, with the desire to create a clean, stable source of mushrooms instead of depending on natural seasons.

She started growing mushrooms at the end of 2020 with a capital of about 200 million VND to invest in building a growing room and 3,000 mushroom spawns. Seeing the positive results of the first crop, she boldly borrowed more capital to expand production. At that time, she built 2 growing rooms to rotate, always ensuring a continuous mushroom harvest. Later, she increased to 5,000 spawns per growing room.

According to Ms. An, black termite mushrooms are very difficult to grow, especially in the farm environment, where temperature and humidity must be closely monitored. The growing room must always be clean, regularly sprayed with disinfectant alcohol to prevent mold; the temperature must be maintained at 25 - 27 degrees Celsius, humidity must be above 80% for the mushrooms to grow well. "At first, I had to consult many documents, learn from experiences in many places, and experiment with many methods to gradually improve the technique. There were many difficulties, but I was determined not to give up," Ms. An said.

Ms. An (left cover) peels and cleans black termite mushrooms to prepare for delivery to customers.

Currently, Ms. An's black termite mushroom farm yields about 700 - 800 kg per crop with 5,000 embryos, depending on weather conditions. Wholesale mushrooms to wholesalers range from 180,000 - 220,000 VND/kg, retail from 260,000 - 300,000 VND/kg. After deducting expenses, the profit per crop reaches 40 - 45 million VND. If favorable conditions, high productivity, higher profits.

Ms. An plans to continue expanding the scale, stabilizing farming techniques, and moving towards organic production. She also cherishes a plan to combine mushroom growing with experiential tourism to increase product value and spread the entrepreneurial spirit.

Comrade Nguyen Van Vu, Vice Chairman of Go Cong Dong Commune People's Committee, said that the black termite mushroom growing model is highly appreciated by the locality thanks to its low investment cost, short growth cycle, easy capital recovery and stable profits. The model does not require much area, takes advantage of local labor, especially women and the elderly. Black termite mushroom has high nutritional value, is favored by the market, the product is clean and environmentally friendly.

According to comrade Vu, in order for the black termite mushroom growing model to develop sustainably, the Commune People's Committee will have a plan to cooperate to organize technical training courses from the stages of making embryos, planting seeds, caring, preventing pests and diseases to harvesting, ensuring to improve product quality; support preferential loans to create jobs and programs to support women starting a business of the Women's Union; connect with businesses and supermarkets to find stable output for products.

At the same time, establish groups of women starting up black termite mushroom growing businesses for women to exchange and share experiences; organize for women members to visit and learn experiences to replicate the model; promote examples of successful women starting up businesses to inspire and motivate many other women; encourage mushroom growing combined with experiential tourism, helping to increase income and promote products.

LY OANH

Source: https://www.baodongthap.vn/kinh-te/202509/chi-tran-thai-an-khoi-nghiep-voi-mo-hinh-nam-moi-den-1049601/