Mushroom cultivation can tackle poverty, food insecurity in Nigeria, says scholar

Sami Ayodele, a professor of botany at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), says mushroom cultivation can create wealth, alleviate poverty and enhance human health.

He spoke on the topic “mushrooms: friends or foes” during the 22nd inaugural lecture of the institution in Abuja on Thursday.

Ayodele said mushrooms stand tall amongst other vegetables due to their high medicinal and nutritional content that can deal with micronutrient malnutrition which is prevalent among the less privileged in society.

“The global demand for mushrooms has continued to increase significantly according to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) report and the market for mushrooms is also huge and growing exponentially,” he said.

Ayodele said if attention is given to mushroom cultivation, it can offer a lot of hope by contributing significantly to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

“It is safe to declare that Nigeria can earn as much as N1 trillion naira annually if the sector is properly developed,” he added.

“The mushroom sub-sector, along the value chain, if properly developed and managed, could provide 30 million skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled jobs for the teeming unemployed graduates, vulnerable youths and women.”

The lecturer called for regular conferences and workshops by mushroom scientists to sensitise the Nigerian public about the new trends in mushroom cultivation and its potential for food security.

On its nutritional benefits, Ayodele said mushrooms are rich sources of protein, fibre, vitamins, and carbohydrates which according to him are suitable for patients with heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes.

The professor also said mushrooms contain special ingredients that help prevent cancer and other life-threatening medical conditions.

He further said they can be used to treat headaches, stomach aches, fever, colds, mumps, and heart disease.

The professor noted that mushrooms play a role in reducing environmental pollution by converting and utilising organic wastes generated through activities of agricultural, forest, and food processing industries.

The scholar presented a 10-point recommendation in which he called on the Nigerian government to establish national mushroom germplasm centres in different parts of the country where documentation of all available edible and medicinal mushrooms will be housed.

He also recommended the inclusion of mushroom cultivation for entrepreneurial purposes in the educational curriculum in biological and agricultural sciences.

Ayodele added that pharmaceutical industries in Nigeria should exploit the medicinal potentials of mushrooms in the country.