Mushroom: White Gold for an Agricultural Engineer

INTRODUCTION

An Agricultural Engineer pursuing his degree from Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Mr. Rahul Yadav is from the small village named Majra Khurd, Mahendergarh in Haryana only. Born and grown up in a middle-class family, Mr. Rahul’s determination and intention to do something big was clear from day one. Better not giving credit to the situation, but it was his hard and smart work that lead him to take the high flight.

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THE ROAD TO DREAMS

The mind was determined and so the heart was, a 20-year old guy from Haryana just needed the right direction which came to him in the month of October 2020, when the Haryana Agricultural University decided to arrange the Mushroom training for the interested students in the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Mahendergarh.

POST-TRAINING PERIOD

He completed his training in the early November of 2020 and became a certified mushroom farmer. Not forgetting he just entered the 2^nd year of his course, this young mind has learned to manage the workload pretty effectively. Not even a month after his training, he was all set to operate the indoor all-season mushroom plant. At the time of the initiation, the conditions were well set for the mushrooms to grow, but as we know, the difficult the start is, the smoother the path is, and the same happened with Mr. Rahul as well. Hustle was done in the early days as it is never easy to manage the business with studies.

EARLY STRUGGLE

In a heart-to-heart conversation with Mr. Rahul, we came to know about his struggle in the early days. The difficulties included the rise of the capital, unavailability of the raw material nearby, and proper guidance. Investing his lifetime savings and after fetching a loan from the bank, the collection was enough to capitalize in the Mushroom Centre. Initially, it was not easy to get the raw material as well. He traveled from Delhi to Farrukhnagar in Jhajjar to get the seeds and at last, he found his regular supplier in the face of Neha Mashroom Centre in Jhajjar. After getting knowledge from the books and tackling all the social norms, Mr. Rahul was all set to open the first air-conditioned mushroom plant in Mahendergarh. As the season changed, the work of air-conditioners come into play to maintain a favorable environment for their growth.

IMPROVEMENT AND RECOGNITION

We are true when we quote that sky is not the limit and Mr. Rahul is one of them who has proved it true. Started from a single room fully air-conditioned mushroom plant, he has now expanded to three rooms in the span of a year only. Working on his own principles, he always looks for improvement, and from getting a handful in the initial time, Mr. Rahul is now getting Rs 25000 per month from his plant.

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I think he is one of them who always looks the things with broad vision. The hunger for success with excellence as the weapon, he wanted a brief change. After fulfilling his dream and taking care of the difficulties in his course, he decided to smoothen things for the other agri-business aspirants like him by delivering the knowledge through YouTube and setting up training for them. Apart from this, he set up the vermicompost as well from the mushroom waste only turning the best he could out of that waste.

RECONGITION

The success story of Mr. Rahul Yadav shows us that where there is a will, there is the way.

Getting recognition from the Vice-Chancellor of Haryana Agricultural University, Professor Baldev Raj Kamboj for his excellent work and showcase of the positive approach and mindset, he is an inspiration for many including me.