Association wants policy for 30% mushroom content for hotels confectionary

FMITI advises members on unity

The President, National Mushroom Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NAM-GP-MAN) Chief Micheal Awunor has said that 30% local content inclusion of mushroom in all our confectioneries in the entire stores and hotels across the country would galvanize its productivity saying government provision of policy support in this regards would effectively drive the action plan of the produce just as the Permanent Secretary (PS), Federal ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), Mr. Edet Sunday Apan enjoined the executives to work harmoniously towards achieving success.

Chief Awunor said this at the official inauguration of the association executives to the management of FMITI led by the Mr. Apan that the association would increased mushroom productivity using local content inclusion action plan to ensure nutritional value of our food intake with proactive government policy to aid the process adding that  ‘’We will work with the FMITI, ministry of health, ministry of agriculture, ministry of environment and the pharmaceutical stakeholders to ensure eating a plate of mushroom a day against hypertension, diabetics and cancer’’

‘’ Government must help us with policy that will drive this action. Your mushroom on the shelves must have 30% local content. Hotels must include 30% mushroom content in all confectioneries that are served to customers and there will be task force to ensure the implementation from the association. We will strike deal with indomie noddles to ensure mushroom inclusion as nutritional addictive into the flour for children and adults’’

He pointed that the economic advantages of the crop can as well compete with rice cultivation and others in terms of foreign exchange being that it could be grown throughout all the seasons of the year added ‘’ mushroom subsector in Nigeria has the potentials to generate foreign exchange for Nigeria on a sustainable basis if properly developed while economic activities along its value chain generates substantial and significant number of employment for our teaming youths and women both in rural and urban areas’’  

NAM-GP-MAN president emphasised that more people would be mobilised into the cultivation across the nation through stakeholders forum that would be held across the six geo political zones saying South-South own has been held in River state last month and the rest regions would be done before the year run out so as to acquaint stakeholders at the value chains to new  technologies and opportunities in this crop for its capability to  organically restore back soil fertility especially in the oil producing areas.

One of the mushroom executives, Mr. Alaya Hammed Funsho that spoke with FoodFarmNews on the economic value of the crop said that he could not presently meet the demand based on the increasing awareness of people in term of its nutritional value to the body.

Funsho enjoined youths to take economic opportunities available in the cultivation of the crop to empower themselves and gainfully create job for others saying this was the only ways unemployment challenges in the country can be eradicated.

The PS FMITI Mr. Apan who officially inaugurated about 15 elected executives of the association however advised members to work as a team towards a competitive mushroom productivity across the value chains in the global market saying more of people should be recruited across the country adding that Federation of Commodity association of Nigeria (FACAN) should be very handy to give needed support to the association as the ministry would be ready to as well ready to give.

Apan said ‘’ working as a team is key to be successful as you have your members. Work with them to buy into what you believe in and also work with the national body of FACAN. You have to be very competitive because mushroom is exportable and a lot of money could be made from it to activate the economy. We belief in what you are doing and we promise to support you because mushroom is so key to nutritional value and improve the quality of our health in terms of stamina and strength. It is also a produce to be used to engage our youths in terms of employment and economic empowerment’’