Meat consumption in Kenya is very high. The average Kenyan consumes around 15 kilogrammes of meat (especially red meat) per year. In urban settings, the average Kenyan consumes around a half a kilogramme of meat daily.
Excessive consumption of red meat has been linked to cancer, heart diseases and other ailments. As a result, people are looking for healthier alternative sources of protein like plant protein and mushrooms. While there are easily accessible options of plant-based proteins like beans, lentils, green grams, and other pulses – mushrooms are not as accessible and can be expensive.
At MaGreen Morganics, we have an obsessive focus on growing food that is healthy for ourselves and our community and doing it in a way that is also good for the environment. We began to explore mushrooms as an alternative and healthier source of protein for our customers. Mushrooms typically grow in cool and humid weather, with ideal temperatures between 16 and 22 degrees Celsius. The Kenyan coast is humid and hot with temperatures soaring above 25 degrees Celsius. So this was going to be a daunting challenge, but we were up to the task.
A starting point for us was conducting research into mushroom farming especially in hot coastal weather. We wanted to learn as much as possible so that we would not repeat the same mistakes others made. We were inspired by other successful mushroom farmers in Africa like the Mushroom Queen – Mrs. Fafape Ama Etsa Foe – a leading mushroom producer in Ghana, and many other mushroom producers in Kenya and across the continent. Our research extended beyond as we poured over literature, case studies, videos and other helpful resources by institutions and farmers around the world.
We then developed a business plan – crunching the numbers to see if the mushroom enterprise could bring in a decent income and sustain itself. This also included exploring sources of raw materials like substrate and amendments required. During this period, we also explored the market – individuals, restaurants and supermarkets. At the end of the process, we had a plan and were satisfied that this line of business was worthwhile, even with the risks involved.
Given some understanding of mycelium and with a plan in place, we then hired someone with experience in mushroom production to help us get started. We took our existing team for training at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology – they provide a short hands on course on mushroom growing as a business. It was important that we knew what we were doing so as to minimize the number of mistakes. Based on our research and training, we developed a guidance document on how we would run a mushroom enterprise. We spent time discussing it and making amendments – but we knew its proof was in getting started.
Given our hot weather we had to build a structure that would enable us to control the conditions to enable mushrooms to grow. We opted for a mud house with thatched roof made from makuti (coconut leaf thatch). Clay was readily available on our farm by digging several feet below the sandy soils and makuti is a common roofing option for many houses in our community. We also covered the floor with charcoal. This combination of mud walls, makuti roof and charcoal floor enables us to reduce the temperature and control the humidity in the mushroom growing and fruiting rooms.
During our research, we had come across the use of single-use plastic bags in mushroom production and wanted an environmentally friendly approach. We began to explore the use of buckets. We came across a mushroom producer in Australia who grows 80 kilogrammes of mushrooms a week in buckets. We were inspired and committed to getting this done at our farm. We ordered clear buckets from KenPoly – it was much cheaper purchasing from the manufacturer directly, than through hardware stores or supermarkets.
An important ingredient in mushroom production was acquiring the growing medium (substrate). Given our proximity to the Kwale International Sugar Company, we thought we could easily secure sugarcane bagasse from them. Unfortunately, they had other uses for it. This was a setback for us. So we explored the use of rice straw as we have many farmers around us who grow rice. It was labour-intensive and expensive to harvest the rice straw. We had harvested rice straw to keep us going for around 8 months and all of it got destroyed when it got rained on as we did not have covered storage for it. At some point, we had to purchase hay which was too expensive. For oyster mushrooms, we could use sawdust which was available in plenty from sawmills and carpenters in our community.
Perhaps the most challenging component to acquire was mushroom spawn. Spawn is equivalent of seeds for mushroom production. We had to get mushroom strains that could do well in warm weather environments. This proved difficult. We could not find any supplier at the Kenyan coast and had to engage suppliers from Nairobi and Thika who have to courier the spawn to us. There are incidents where we received low quality and contaminated spawn which has affected our productivity. In some cases, there was no supply in the market and this affected our production schedule. We tried to grow warm weather button mushrooms but our controlled temperatures were not ideal for this variety. We are now focused on white oyster mushrooms which are doing very well. Going forward, we have plans to produce our own spawn and supply to other mushrooms growers at the Kenyan coast.
While our production of oyster mushrooms is modest at the moment, we are increasingly scaling our capacity and hope to be the leading producer of mushrooms at the Kenyan coast in three years’ time. Part of our strategy is to train other small scale farmers in our community to produce quality organic mushrooms for their consumption and for sale. We intend to inspire a movement of organic mushroom farmers who grow healthy food that is good for our community and good for the environment.
So, what have we learnt so far?
- Failing fast and failing forward. It took us a bit longer than needed to pull the plug on the button mushroom production. We had sunk costs and wanted to see the venture succeed, so we invested a bit more time, energy and money. When it is clear that something is not working, it is better to stop and explore alternatives.
- Context is king. Even with good quality research, nothing beats learning by doing it yourself. Some theory or other people’s successful experiences do not translate to your own success. Your environment, context and conditions are unique and things might work slightly differently. So a healthy dose of patience is required, and there is a need for constant reflection and adjustments.
- Celebrate little successes. In the midst of the challenges, it is important to celebrate little successes. Even when something fails, we have learnt how not to do something. When harvesting the first crop, celebrate the success and the team. This motivates everyone to keep going and giving it their best.
- Seek opportunities. There are new opportunities in every new venture. Our challenges in acquiring quality mushroom spawn is inspiring us to set up our own lab to produce quality spawn for ourselves and for other mushroom producers.
So how do you support us going forward? Do get in touch and place an order for organic oyster mushrooms at KES 250 per punnet (250 grams). We are planning a mushroom training in late August – early September 2024. If interested, do get in touch with us and expressing your interest through kuza@magreen.co.ke. For organisations willing to sponsor small scale farmers at the Kenyan coast in this training, we would love to partner with you in this regard.