Participants which include tour managers from the hotel industry that had recently been laid off are part of the 34th training on mushroom farming at the JUNCAO training centre in Legalega, Nadi.
42 participants sponsored by the Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises & Development (FRIEND) Fiji are part of the two-day training which has been organised by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with JUNCAO Technology.
54 year old, Poasa Nauluvula of Sabeto was a tour manager before COVID-19 hit the tourism industry.
Nauluvula says this workshop has given him a chance to explore mushroom farming as an alternative source of income.
Permanent Secretary for Agriculture, Ritesh Dass says there is a need for more farmers to venture into mushroom farming to increase production.
He says currently there are nine active producers in Fiji, six in the Central Division, and three in the Western Division selling fresh mushroom from $12 to $25 per kilogram.
Fiji imports 124 metric tonnes of mushroom worth $0.9million annually and there is an existing demand for the commodity, which is increasing in popularity in local markets, namely supermarkets, restaurants, and within the tourism sector.
The JUNCAO technology team has so far trained 1,500 local technicians with 33 training workshops conducted throughout the country.
The trainees are provided with free mushroom tubers and JUNCAO cuttings to set up smallholder units.
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