A MIDLANDS State University (MSU) agricultural economics graduate, Charlotte Mutodi, has made great strides in turning what she learnt in college into a thriving mushroom growing initiative.
While her former classmates are busy job-hunting, Mutodi (27) is now the proud owner of Ebber Mushrooms based in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East province.
She graduated from MSU in 2017.
“Most of my former classmates are still looking for employment five years after graduating. Those formally employed complain daily because they get paid in our local currency. It is not stable because of high inflation,” she said.
Mutodi said she grew her passion for oyster mushroom farming during her attachment at the Department of Agricultural Technical and Extension Services (AGRITEX), a Ministry of Agriculture department.
It was during this time that she was taught how to grow mushrooms.
“Mushroom farming has enabled me to be self-sufficient; I run my own business and have managed to employ three other people,” she said.
Mutodi started her mushroom project with growing structures made of black plastic sheeting at the backyard of her Ruwa home, some 25 kilometres east of Harare.
“I did not have enough capital to start this project, so I gathered maize stalks and bought spore and mushroom seed for US$10. I built my mushroom growing structure from black sheeting and started growing mushrooms. I started with a total of US$20.”
From this amount, she made a profit of US$60 and used the cash to buy more materials and spores.
As the business grew, found a small plot in Goromonzi, eight kilometers east of Ruwa, expanded her project, and the venture is paying-off.
“My desire has always been that one day I would run a successful farming business,” Mutodi said.
She supplies her mushrooms to local supermarkets, and currently, supplies between 200 to 300 punnets a week.
Mutodi also offers training to aspiring mushroom farmers, and sells spores and feed that are ready for growing.
