How a Spawn Shortage Turned Muzaffarpur's Manorama Singh Into Bihar's 'Mushroom Queen' Earning Five Lakh a Month Muzaffarpur's Manorama Singh once travelled to Pusa Agricultural University just to buy mushroom spawn, today she runs her own lab, supplies seed across Bihar, several states and Nepal, and earns close to five lakh rupees a month. People in Muzaffarpur now call Manorama Singh the Mushroom Queen, but that title did not come easily. There was a time she had to travel nearly 50 kilometres to Pusa Agricultural University in Samastipur just to buy mushroom spawn, booking her order months in advance and paying for it upfront. Today the same Manorama prepares spawn herself in her own lab and supplies 200 to 400 kilograms of it every day to buyers across Bihar, several other states and Nepal. A supply problem that sparked a business Manorama says that in the early days of her mushroom farming, the biggest obstacle was simply getting hold of good quality spawn. Pusa Agricultural University was the only reliable source available, so every order meant a trip there, an advance booking and upfront payment. To get past this problem, she trained in spawn production herself and set up her own lab at her maternal home in Bakhra-Abhichhapra village in Muzaffarpur's Saraiya block. That lab has now been running continuously for 12 years. Her spawn now travels from Bihar to Nepal The spawn produced in her lab today reaches buyers in Muzaffarpur, various districts across Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal. Around 500 farmers are directly associated with her, growing mushrooms using the spawn she prepares. This spares them the same running around that Manorama herself once had to endure. Her lab currently produces spawn for button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms and paddy straw mushrooms. A fully scientific production process According to Manorama, the entire spawn preparation process follows a scientific method. Wheat is first cleaned thoroughly and boiled, then dried. Calcium carbonate and calcium sulphate are then mixed in before the mixture is packed into polybags. These bags are sterilised in an autoclave machine for about two hours and 15 minutes. Once cooled, mushroom culture is introduced using a laminar air flow machine. After this process, oyster mushroom spawn is ready for use in about seven days, while button mushroom spawn takes roughly 15 days to be ready. Nearly five lakh rupees in profit every month Manorama says that spawn sales alone bring her a profit of close to five lakh rupees every month. She believes that if farmers adopt the right technique and use quality seed, mushroom farming can become a source of good income even at low cost. A woman who once depended entirely on others for spawn now meets the needs of hundreds of farmers herself, and her journey has become a source of inspiration for many farmers and women across the region. What this means for you • Across India: Farmers and women interested in mushroom farming now have a reliable source of quality spawn in Manorama Singh's lab, cutting out the long waits and travel that spawn buyers once faced. • In Bihar: Around 500 farmers in and around Muzaffarpur are already growing mushrooms using her spawn, sparing them the trip to Pusa Agricultural University and the advance payments that were once unavoidable. Questions & Answers 1. Who is Manorama Singh and why is she called the Mushroom Queen? Manorama Singh is from Muzaffarpur and produces mushroom spawn on a large scale for supply across several regions, an achievement that earned her the title Mushroom Queen. 2. Where is Manorama Singh's spawn lab located? Her lab is at her maternal home in Bakhra-Abhichhapra village in Muzaffarpur's Saraiya block, and it has been running for the past 12 years. 3. Where did she used to get mushroom spawn earlier? She earlier had to travel about 50 kilometres to Pusa Agricultural University in Samastipur, booking orders months in advance and paying upfront. 4. How much spawn does her lab produce daily? Her lab produces between 200 and 400 kilograms of mushroom spawn every day. 5. Where does her spawn get supplied to? Besides Muzaffarpur, it is supplied to various districts of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal. 6. How many farmers are associated with her lab? Around 500 farmers are directly associated with her, growing mushrooms using the spawn she prepares. 7. How much profit does Manorama Singh earn every month? She earns close to five lakh rupees in profit every month just from selling spawn. 8. How long does it take to prepare mushroom spawn? Oyster mushroom spawn is ready in about seven days, while button mushroom spawn takes around 15 days to be ready. Inspiration & Lessons • Turn a problem into an opportunity: Instead of just struggling with spawn shortages, Manorama trained herself and built a business around solving that very problem. • Get proper training: Learning the scientific method of spawn production helped her maintain quality and build trust among farmers. • Start where you are: She launched her lab at her own maternal village and grew it into a wide network over 12 years. • Build a farmer network: Directly connecting with around 500 farmers expanded both her reach and her income. • Diversify your offering: Producing spawn for button, oyster, king oyster and paddy straw mushrooms broadened her business beyond a single product. https://trendkia.com/en/success-stories/masharuma-ke-bija-ki-killata-ne-muzaffarpur-ki-manorama-singh-ko-bana-diya-lakhon-ki-kamai-karane-vali-udyami-4990 TrendKia — Har trend, sabse pehle.