Malay Mail
USM helps empower local communities in Penang through volvariella mushroom venture
2 March 2024

Students from the Centre for Distance Education Studies of Universiti Sains Malaysia sow volvariella mushroom seeds at the mushroom garden at the Pinang Tunggal oil palm plantation March 2, 2024. — Bernama pic

KEPALA BATAS, March 2 — A joint Volvariella mushroom crop venture between Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) with the community of Pinang Tunggal will help generate additional income for the residents there and boost their socio-economic status.

The university has been conducting the venture since September last year at the Pinang Tunggal oil palm estate, and about 30 villagers, mostly single mothers and housewives from Kampung Tok Bedu and Kampung Kubang Menerong are involved, programme research head Dr Jacquelina Karimon said.

The mushrooms were chosen as it was not only easy and cheap but could generate up to thousands of ringgit in revenue each month due to the mushrooms’ high demand.

“The mushrooms can be harvested in a short period... so it is suitable for farmers with other commercial crops like oil palm, rubber and bananas to use these mushrooms as a secondary integrated crop to maximise their land usage,” she said during the programme’s officiation here today, adding that there was only one area where the crop was planted commercially in Kedah as the mushrooms were a new crop in the country.

She said that the mushrooms were 100 per cent chemical-free as it did not require any chemicals for its growth and were fresher under natural light. Unlike oyster mushrooms, she said the Volvariella mushroom had a stronger aroma and flavour, allowing it to be more versatile as it was suitable to be processed as a flavour additive.

A general view of the volvariella mushroom growing at the mushroom garden at the Pinang Tunggal oil palm plantation March 2, 2024. — Bernama pic

On long-term plans, Jacquelina said they would try to expand the area of planting by exploring suitable areas in North Seberang Perai district, which seemed to have many agricultural sources with the potential to be part of this project.

“We will also work with other lecturers with bio-chemical backgrounds to produce our own seeds, which can be of better quality and durability as the mushroom is quite prone to damage.

We intend to have a farming kit so that everyone can plant their own mushroom crop at home,” she added.

Meanwhile, Tok Bedu Village Community Management Council chairman Zulkifli Saad expressed his thanks to USM for choosing Pinang Tunggal as the pioneer area for the mushroom crop, sharing that the revenue gained had added to the incomes of participants.

He said he never thought that the oil palm husks could be used as a planting medium for mushrooms and allow them to rake in such good returns.

“The mushrooms are really easy to plant and can produce quite a lot of mushrooms. So far, we have yet to be able to market our harvest widely because there is already high demand among our own villagers,” he said, adding that the revenue from sales were distributed evenly among participants. — Bernama