The Mushroom is one of the most cherished delicacies eaten by most households in Cameroon especially the North West Region. Yet mushroom are strange phenomenon to many people because it’s lived most of its year unnoticed under the ground or inside wood; only by fruiting it reveals it presence. In nature, mushroom will grow on fallen leaves, animal dropping or stumps of dead wood. It’s their role in nature to decompose the complex organic structures left behind by plants and animals, which they intend to regain access to minerals and other nutrients present in the substrate.

In North West Region of Cameroon , most of the edible mushroom is gotten from the wild especially during the first raindrops. These species of mushroom commonly called “cocobiaco” are much sought after.. Many wild species of mushroom are being collected for consumption far more than are cultivated because their cultivation parameters at present are not yet known specially fungi, which lived in close association with other organisms. For these reason, mankind has to rely on nature.

Mushroom cultivation has many advantages, no arable land is needed, agricultural waste is converted into fertilizer and soil conditioner, its income generating and the mushroom provides extra source of protein and valuable vitamins and minerals.In our continuous effort to promote sustainable agriculture, CISEGD Cameroon have been working with communities to train them on mushroom production, 20 women groups have been trained.

The farmers use the spent substrate to condition the soil or apply as organic fertilizer. We have been educating farmers on how to use available local resources like animal and crop waste to produce mushroom it is only through such activity that farmers and community members are able to recognizes the relationship between our environment, our health and the food we eat. Local farmers now can cultivate mushroom and consume it as an alternative protein source and transform it into other products such as mushroom juice and animal fold.