From training in Iran to entrepreneurship in Herat: Masouma’s efforts to expand mushroom… — Pajhwok

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Masouma Mohseni, a young woman in western Herat province who started her business with a small investment four years ago after receiving mushroom cultivation training in neighbouring Iran, has now seen her business grow. She wants to expand her work, increase mushroom production and provide training and employment opportunities for more women. After completing mushroom cultivation training in Iran, Masouma began producing mushrooms with limited resources in a small space. She now also works on producing improved mushroom spawn and hopes to expand her business and establish a mushroom production factory in the future. She explained: “One of our main and important goals is to promote the cultivation, buying and selling of mushrooms in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has considerable potential for producing nutritious products such as mushrooms. This activity can also encourage people to produce such products. In addition to their nutritional benefits, mushrooms are also economically beneficial and can contribute to strengthening agriculture.” Alongside mushroom cultivation, Masouma is also working on producing improved spawn. She hopes to increase production by expanding these activities and establish a mushroom production factory in the future. Mushroom cultivation requires preparing the growing medium and providing suitable conditions for growth. In this method, straw is prepared and disinfected before being mixed with mushroom spawn and placed in bags to allow the mushrooms…