Assam’s Kokrajhar district feasts on mushroom, for health and wealth Premium

Assam gave fungi cultivation an investment boost in 2021, as it introduced mushrooms in the midday meal scheme.

Nutrient-loaded mushrooms introduced into the midday meals in western Assam’s Kokrajhar district, as soups, biscuits, fortified noodles, or mixed with regular food in powdered form, appear to have had a positive nutritional effect on children in schools.

Mushrooms were one of the major ingredients introduced for children and mothers, in addition to vitamin and mineral supplementation.  

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Data provided by the district authorities revealed that the number of underweight (up to 6 years), wasted, and anaemic children in Kokrajhar district reduced by 56%, 55%, and 76% from 2021 to 2023.

The maternal mortality rate also decreased in the district by 72.37% to stand at 89.79 per lakh live births, less than half of Assam’s average of 205. Similarly, the infant mortality rate decreased by 30.56% to 15.97 per 1,000 live births (the State’s average is 36).

The results — riding on a team of Anganwadi workers, accredited social health activists (ASHA), and field workers of departments such as education, health, and horticulture — did not come overnight.

The seeds of the transformation were sown by Bodoland University’s Department of Biotechnology in 2012. Its experiments on making 23 species of mushrooms such as oyster, shitake, and cordyceps economically viable and affordable, made many farmers start cultivation in their backyards, sometimes even under beds.