When some people plan to start a business, they first think of saving or borrowing a lot of money. However, this needs not be the case, because there are businesses whose initial capital is even less than sh10,000.

“If you are a first-timer, you should buy an already processed garden because within three days, the mushrooms will be sprouting,” says Susan Namatovu, of African Mushroom Growers Uganda.

Interestingly, Namatovu says each fully colonised garden costs only sh3,000. Standing in a stall in the Netherlands Village at the Harvest Money Expo, 2024, Namatovu said, “Venturing into mushroom growing needs commitment if it is a business. It takes resilience because it is a numbers’ game; the more gardens you have, the more money you make.”

How to start

Namatovu explains that there are only three steps to start mushroom growing:

1. Construction of a grow house: “We (African Mushroom Gowers Uganda) guide you through it. We use papyrus reeds and poles because they are cheap and available. The papyrus is also good because it is aerated, which allows oxygen to get through.
2. They are cool, and mushrooms thrive under such temperatures.
3. Medium light; it should not be too bright or too dim.
4. You need to book with us to get a garden. It takes one week at most to get that garden.
5. Transportation: it is better to use a truck so that they don’t get damaged. We give you transporters who know how to move them.

Namatovu says that a grow house of 25 feet by 20 feet can accommodate 1000 mushroom gardens.

Mushroom care

According to Namatovu, mushroom growers should not pierce the polythene bags. They should just place them in the grow house. She says mushrooms should be watered twice a day, in the morning and evening. “You need 60 litres for a 1000-mushroom garden. They grow within three days,” she says. Namatovu adds, “It is easy to look after mushrooms. Water the mushrooms in the morning and evening. If it is easy and hot, you can water at lunchtime as well,” she says. She also cautions, “You should harvest them first before you water them in the morning because they can rot.”

Mushroom products

Besides harvesting the mushrooms for food, African Mushroom Growers Uganda also has other products, such as mushroom petroleum jelly and powder.

The 2024 Harvest Money Expo is organised by Vision Group with sponsorship from the Netherlands Embassy, Tunga Nutrition, the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), Engineering Solutions (ENGSOL), the Korean International Co-operation Agency (KOICA), TechnoServe, State House Uganda and others.