Straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea) cultivation for

livelihood diversification in Laos

Source Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Keywords Drought, dry spells, Laos, disaster risk reduction,
livelihood diversification, food security, poverty
reduction
Country of first practice Laos
ID and publishing year 8945 and 2017
Sustainable Development Goals Climate action and life on land

Summary
This technology describes the cultivation improve the living conditions of farmers
and cost-benefit analysis of straw mushroom affected by such risks.
cultivation in Laos. By diversifying 1.1 Choosing a suitable location
agricultural livelihoods, the resilience of
small-scale farmers to drought and flood Mushrooms can be grown indoors or
risks is increased. outdoors. The procedure for growing the
mushrooms is the same.
Description As a first step it is necessary to find a
1. Introduction suitable place that is easy to access and
Straw mushrooms (Volvariella volvacea) are to ensure that there is no impact from
suitable to be planted in flood and drought flooding and/or drought. In areas affected
risk areas. by dry spells, the location should be near
the water or near a pond. The location
• In flooded areas, they should be grown in should beeasily accessible so that the
baskets that can be moved. In drought- mushrooms can be moved when there is a
prone areas, containers should be used. disaster. A clean location should be selected
If growing in a growing house, a high that is free from chemicals and other
location should be found, so that flooding substances. The arrangement of a location
does not affect it and there is no water for straw mushroom growing depends on
flowing through the area. the growing method. If growing indoors
• In order to save water during the growing there should be shade, not much sunlight,
phase, a basin should be available. Soaking no harm from animals, and the ability to
rice straw to make the rice straw wet will maintain and water easily when needed.
save more water than sprinkling. In the dry season, a location near a water
• Materials for straw mushroom growing are sources should be found, or a water storage
rice straw, banana leaves or dry banana vessel should be made. For
trees that have not been sprayed with
TECA
growing straw mushrooms,
pesticides or herbicides. per 100 kg of rice straw,
• Straw mushrooms can be grown in materials in Table 1 are
both the rainy and dry seasons, and can required.
TECHNOLOGIES
and PRACTICES
for SMALL
1/6
AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCERS
 Climate Change Adaptation and
Disaster Risk Reduction

1.2 Collecting the mushroom spores 1.4 Preparation of the location to make the
Collect mushroom spores that are ready stack and plot for rice straw mushrooms:
to be planted, considering that the young stack growing form (plot)
and older spores should not be planted. Bring the prepared rice straw to stack into
Mushroom spores are the seedlings that plots with a width of 40 to 80 cm, and the
can be cultivated and grown in the dry length as needed. The stacking in the first
season at high temperature and low layer requires spreading the rice straw
moisture. out to the outer edge of each side flatly.
1.3 Growing method and preparation of When the rice straw is spread out higher
materials than 10 cm, use the hands to push it down
or trample upon it. After stacking on the
Bring the amount of straw from rice or floor for 10 cm, take the dung and husks
banana leaves or dry banana tree as to spread on the top and spray water as in
needed. After that, soak the rice straw a vegetable bed, then take the thrush to
in water for about 24 hours. Instead of spread thinly and spray water again. After
soaking for 20 hours, the straw can also that, construct the second layer and then
be sprayed with water until the straw is the third and fourth. After finishing the
completely wet, then stacked to be the plot fourth layer, cover with the rice straw and
as appropriate. water it until it is completely wet. After that,
bring plastic sheets to cover the stack to
Table 1: Materials

Items Average amount Remarks

Straw or stubble 100 kg
Mushroom spore 4 bags Be able to add more 5 to 6 bags
Rice flour 2 spoons
Dry dung (cow or buffalo) 20 kg Calculate the proportion of rice
straw
Husks 5 kg Calculate the proportion of rice
straw
Plastic sheets with width of 140 cm 15 m
Freshwater hyacinth or banana 20 kg Calculate the proportion of rice
heart straw
Bamboo cut into pieces 4m As needed
Baskets for mushroom growing In case of growing in baskets
Stores or troughs In case of needing the store
Water bucket 1
Large knife 1
Hoe 1
Rake or harrow 1
Source: FAO 2017

2/6
ensure that the wind will not pass through. 10 cm, use dung and husk to spread thinly
After using the plastic sheets to cover it, and then repeat for the third. After the
take dry rice straw to cover the stack and completion of stack 3 and stack 4, water
do not allow any sunlight to get through the again to complete basket 1. Basket 2
mushroom stack at all. and basket 3 can stand near each other
1.5 Growing as plots in the form of troughs to facilitate the covering with the plastic
sheets. By doing this, they can be moved
Growing the mushrooms in troughs will and watered as needed.
make it easier to move them compared
to the plot in case of flood. Make the 1.7 Preparation of mushroom spores for
mushroom grow in structure by taking the growing plots or growing stacks
wood to make a pattern, of which the width The thrush is the most important part that
is 40 cm, the length 120 cm and the height is used to evaluate if the mushroom will
40 cm, to facilitate easy lifting. After putting grow well or not, so it should be observed
the prepared rice straw in the pattern that the thrush growing in the bags has full
higher about 10 cm, use the hands to push fibers beforehand and avoid using the old
it down or trampling upon it. After the thrush because it can have yellow or coffee-
stack on the floor is about 10 cm, take dung colored fibers. Thus, the farmers should
and husks to spread on the top and spray observe and pay attention to this point.
water to wet it, then take the thrush to 1.8 Maintenance
spread thinly and spray water again. After
making stack number 4, apply the thrush After inoculation, the wet straw will start to
and spray the water, adding more rice straw decompose which causes heat production.
and spraying water again that completed Three to four days after planting, it is
the stack 1. The second stack should be important to check the humidity and
about 25 cm from the plot 1 for the gap temperature in the stacks or plots to see
of mushroom growing and to be able to whether they have sufficient temperature
harvest the mushrooms. If the stacks are and humidity. If there is a lack of humidity,
too far from each other, the areas will be use the watering can to water. If the nearby
wasted. temperature is too hot, open the plastic
cover for ventilation. If the temperature
1.6 Growing the baskets is too low, moisture them and thoroughly
Growing the mushrooms in the baskets is close them. Humidity can be observed
an appropriate way in flood prone areas by checking if the straw is equally wet.
because they will be easy to move if there While the temperature can be observed by
is a disaster. The baskets may be plastic inserting a hand inside, if it is warm and has
baskets or wooden baskets that have stream, then it is too hot. In addition, the
plaiting similar to a net or coop to have follow-up and inspection of the plot shall be
gaps for mushroom to grow through. The carried out in the morning or evening.
baskets to plant should have a center line 1.9 Harvest
of 60 cm to 80 cm and a height of 60 cm.
Put the prepared rice straw in the baskets When the mushrooms are large, they can
higher than 10 cm, then use the hands to be harvested, but do not let the mushrooms
tightly depress it. After tightly stacking for blossom. Mushrooms should be harvested

3/6
Table 2. The proportion of rice straw mushroom growing with 100 kg of rice straw

Items Average amount Remarks

Straw or stubble 100 kg Depends on the size needed
Mushroom spore 4 bags Be able to add more 5 to 6 bags
Rice flour 2 spoons Spoon
Dry dung (cow or buffalo) 20 kg Calculate the proportion of rice straw
Husks 5 kg Calculate the proportion of rice straw
Plastic sheets with a size of 15 m
140 cm
Freshwater hyacinth or 20 kg Calculate the proportion of rice straw
banana heart
Bamboo cut into pieces 4m As needed
Baskets for mushroom In case of growing in baskets
growing
Stores or troughs In case of needing the store
Water bucket 1 Be able to use the existing materials
Large knife 1 Be able to use the existing materials
Hoe 1 Be able to use the existing materials
Rake or harrow 1 Be able to use the existing materials
Source: FAO 2017

in the morning, and the entire bunch of Straw mushrooms can be grown at very
mushroom must be harvested. Do not leave low cost, using locally available material
the small mushrooms because they might (e.g. rice straw, cow dung). It requires little
become palely dry. After harvesting, the work effort and the first mushrooms can
mushroom should be watered and covered be harvested two weeks after preparing
by plastic tightly. For the outside of the the straw beds. It is a DRR good practice
stack, more hay should be added to prevent technology for small-scale farmers during
the sunlight. the dry season, when lack of water often
2. Cost-benefit analysis: preliminary results prevents them to grow rice. Indeed, straw
for the GPO straw mushroom cultivation in mushroom production requires little amount
Lao PDR – 2016 dry season of water, thereby reducing vulnerability
to dry conditions. During the 2016 dry
Straw mushroom production was introduced season, the performance of this DRR good
in small-scale farms in Lao PDR as part of practice technology was monitored in
the projects “Consolidating capacities for 42, 24 and 26 farms in the Khammouane,
DRR in Agriculture in South East Asia” and Champasak and Savannakhet provinces
“Institutionalizing Disaster Risk Reduction respectively. None of the farms experienced
and Management (DRRM) in agriculture hazard conditions during the monitoring
for enhanced resilience programming and period. The results of the qualitative and
integrated implementation across sectors”. quantitative analyses conducted based on

4/6
field demonstration data are summarized Figure 1: Cumulative Net Benefit of Good Practice (straw
mushroom production) and Opportunity cost of labour in
hereafter. farms not affected by hazards – 2016 Dry Season
2.1 Cumulative net returns over 11 years
The net benefits obtained from the good
practice were valued through a cost-benefit
analysis (CBA) based on quantitative data
collected during the monitoring period in
the 2016 dry season. The CBA projects the
cumulative net present value of benefits
obtained from an average mushroom house
in the analysed area (6 straw beds) over a
period of 11 years. A 10 percent discount

© FAO/TECA
rate is applied to express the future value
of costs and benefits in present terms.
The benefit-cost ratio (BCR) is the ratio
Figure 2: Costs and benefits of mushroom production, as
between total discounted benefits and total compared to Opportunity Cost of Labor (USD per year) -
discounted costs over the appraisal period. 2016 Dry Season
Since straw mushroom cultivation was
not previously practiced in the monitored
farms, control plots were not available
to conduct a comparative analysis. As
an alternative, the opportunity cost of
agricultural labor was used, i.e. the income
foregone by not employing the labor used
for straw mushroom production elsewhere.
Results from the dry season show that net
benefits from straw mushroom production
under non-hazard conditions are about 98%
higher than the opportunity cost of labor
© FAO/TECA

under non-hazard conditions.

Figure 1 and Figure 2 provide an overview
of the outcome of the CBA. In particular, it 2.2 Benefits and losses
shows that:
2.2.1 Economic
• In the dry season and under non-hazard Under the condition of absence of natural
conditions (Figure 1), the net benefits disasters, the net yield of straw mushroom
of mushroom growing in an average production doubles compared with the
mushroom house (6 straw beds) over 11 opportunity costs of other agricultural
years are about two times higher than activities. When the production is not
the opportunity cost of labour. The BCR is affected by natural disasters, approaches
1.74. to avoid losses cannot be measured nor
• Figure 2 shows the breakdown of costs analyzed.
and benefits accounted in the analysis.

5/6
 2.2.2 Environmental cultivation, as well as to visit other villages
Growing straw mushroom needs less to exchange knowledge and practices.
water compared with some other crops. 3.3 Farmers reactions
This approach improves the flexibility All farmers interviewed declared that
in the dry season and sustainable water they would be willing to replicate this
management. disaster risk reduction (DRR) good practice
3. Validation of the practice technology in the next seasons. 72 percent
3.1 Geographical area of practice validation of the farmers explicitly mentioned that
In the dry season of the year 2015 to 2016, straw mushrooms are “easy to grow”. They
there were appropriate pilot activities in reported that growing straw mushrooms is
three target provinces: 42 families in the a good practice because of low investment
Xebangfai district, Khammouane Province; needs (inputs and labor), and they are able
24 families in the Xaybouly district, to have a production and income during
Savannakhet Province and 26 families in the the dry season. Furthermore, 79 percent
Sanasomboun district, Champasak Province. of all farmers noted that mushrooms need
While following up and inspecting, the less water than other crops, and about
results of qualitative and quantitative 80 percent appreciated the reduced labor
analyses were conducted according to the efforts required. Finally, about 60 percent
data from the diagnostic site. of farmers stressed that mushrooms
contributed to diversifying their diets.
3.2 Additional benefits of growing
mushrooms None of the farmers highlighted any
unintended effect of this DRR good practice
3.2.1 Sustainability technology. However, some farmers raised
100 percentof the 92 farmers that tested the need to get additional training on how
straw mushroom growing are planning to effectively commercialize mushrooms.
to continue the activity during the next
dry seasons. 72 percent say that straw 4. Related/associated technologies
mushrooms are “easy to grow”. • Indoor mushroom production for
livelihood diversification, Lao PDR.
3.2.2 Socio-economic benefits
80 percent of farmers found that 5. Agro-ecological zones
mushroom cultivation required low • Tropics, warm
amount of inputs and less labor effort. 6. Objectives fulfilled by the project
3.2.3 Environmental/natural resource 6.1 Resource use efficiency
management co-benefits Straw mushrooms cultivation requires a
60 percent of farmers affirmed that limited amount of water compared to other
mushrooms can be grown using limited crops, thereby enhancing resilience during
amounts of water. the dry season and sustainable water
3.2.4 Additional needs resources management.
93 percent of farmers raised the need
to receive more trainings on mushroom
TECA
TECHNOLOGIES
and PRACTICES
for SMALL
6/6 AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCERS