(VOVworld) – Mushroom growing has become a profitable trade for many farming households in Soc Trang province thanks to its low farming cost and short harvesting cycle. Mushroom growing has contributed significantly to building new rural areas in the province.

While waiting for the winter-spring crop Nguyen Van Lam’s family of Nga Nam town uses straws from the previous harvest to grow mushrooms. Usually the mushrooms are ready for harvest after 20 days. Each kilogram sells for 2-3USD, earning them approximately 700USD each harvest. Lam said: “Mushroom growing earns us thousands of USD a year. It is more profitable and less time consuming than rice growing.”

Profits from mushroom growing has prompted many households in Nga Nam to involve in the trade. The family of Mr. Dao Van Kiet buys straws from nearby provinces to grow mushrooms. Each harvest produces 2 tones of mushrooms earning them 1,500USD. Kiet said: “The quality of the straws and good straw composting will give high productivity. We must also observe the development of mushrooms.”

Many local households are expanding their mushroom growing area during crop intervals. One third of the 445 local households are growing mushrooms with an annual output of 800,000 tones. The local administration is encouraging them to apply scientific advances in mushroom production and establish cooperatives to help in production sales. Hong Minh Nhat, head of the Economic Office of Nga Nam town, said: “We’ll cooperate with banks to implement policies on mechanizing the agricultural sector. We’ll consider loans to help farmers grow mushrooms to increase their incomes.”

Nga Nam’s mushroom growing model has been expanded to My Tu, Chau Thanh, and Thanh Tri districts. A number of companies have been buying all their products for domestic consumption and exports.