The People’s Education Association of Ghana (PEA,) a community-based organisation in the Eastern Region, is crying over heavy losses in its mushroom business due to “unforeseen spawns potent defect and deficiency.”
According to the group, with its formation in 1998, it decided to embark on intensive mushroom farming because of its high protein and medicinal value.
Speaking to Today, the Secretary of the group, Mr. Samuel Rexford Asante, said: “With the help of a retired senior advisor to the Executive Director of the World Bank, Mr. Ernest Ako-Adjei, who recommended the group to the Community based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, 32 members of the group were trained in mushroom farming, beekeeping and grasscutter rearing in January.”
He said after the training, the trainees were set up with grant and loan in September 2008.
“Unfortunately, the trainer of the mushroom group used inferior materials in building the structures for the mushroom growing trainees, forcing the structures to collapse within a year,” he disclosed.
He noted that the CBRDP consequently trained the mushroom growers again and its Executive Committee sought for the group a loan of GH¢8,000 to reactivate the Centre, and those other individuals of the group raised another GH¢5,000 to revive the mushroom project.
“Production started well in August 2012 but things turned out differently as the spawn procured for the mushroom from the Madina branch of the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) had defects and deficiencies,” he said.
According to Mr. Asante, that has rendered the mushroom farmers incapable of fulfilling the loan obligations with their creditors, adding that “the vision of the mushroom farmers wishing to bring more of the youth into production has proved futile.”
He therefore appealed to their creditors to allow them some time to pay back the loan.
“We are also calling on the government and other philanthropists to assist us so that the mushroom centre can be vibrant to absorb the unemployed youth into gainful employment,” he concluded.
