One man’s passion transforms a village through mushroom farming

From a modest home-based venture to a state-of-the-art enterprise, Mandeep Singh Randhawa has turned mushroom cultivation into a thriving agribusiness.

Inspired by his mother, Harjinder Kaur, who began mushroom farming in 1989 to support the family income, Mandeep has helped transform Randhawa Mushroom Farm, in Dhardeo village, 8 km from Baba Bakala town, into a leading name in the region.

Trained at the Directorate of Mushroom Research, Solan, Mandeep, along with his brothers, now cultivates 12 varieties of mushrooms including button, milky and various oyster mushrooms. The family-run farm, located on the Batala-Jalandhar Highway, has 12 air-conditioned growing chambers, a composting unit, cold storage and a retail outlet. Their value-added products, mushroom pickles, papads, biscuits and namkeen, are processed in-house and are in high demand across the Majha and Doaba regions.

Mandeep’s journey has not been without hurdles. From battling crop diseases to low market prices, he faced numerous challenges. But innovation became his weapon. “When rates dropped, we processed the mushrooms into pickles instead of selling at a loss,” says Mandeep. The strategy paid off, mushroom pickles became a bestseller.

The farm gave employment to more than 100 people, majority of them women. Recognised nationally, Mandeep received an award from Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) in 2017 for cultivating the most diverse mushroom varieties. As a member of the State Mushroom Development Board, he also facilitated expert training from the Netherlands to uplift local practices. There are only a few farmers in the state who have set up such high-tech farms and mushroom-processing units.

Mandeep believes modern crops like mushrooms can provide alternative income sources for farmers. “I have explored a lot in this business and want fellow farmers to adopt mushroom farming at a small level. We need to educate students early about agriculture so they see it as a career, not just a fallback,” said Mandeep.

Amritsar