The mushrooming potential of Kenya’s fungi farms
The mushrooming potential of Kenya’s fungi farms
How innovators are sowing spores of change in Kenyan agribusiness and myco-culture
Reading time: 7 mins
Maurice Njagi and I sit on a shady porch at a farming community school in Kiambu County, just west of Kenya’s capital Nairobi. The school is run by the daughter of our host Mrs Njoroge, an inspirational agribusiness maven who has established a farming ecosystem around chickens, dairy cows, goats, sheep, coffee and button mushrooms. Mrs Njoroge’s story will be shared in a separate post. Today our focus is on why Maurice is visiting her farm, and why this matters for Kenyan mushroom farming.
Local solutions for local problems
Like many mushroom farmers in Kenya, Mrs Njoroge relies on consultants like Makuno Organic Mushrooms. Maurice, the CEO and one of four founding partners helps manage her farming processes. Makuno, which means ‘mushroom’ in Kikuyu, supports local mushroom farmers through an out-growers programme, providing tailored information and education based on the unique environment of the grower. Essentially, local solutions for local challenges.
Makuno offers personalised and comprehensive support that includes assistance with farm setup and affordable farm inputs, market insights and digital farm management solutions. They provide advice on building structures for inoculation and fruiting, to manage temperature, airflow and pests. They also help farmers choose the appropriate substrate material based on the specific climate conditions— particularly important as farmers face different challenges, such as heat and humidity along the coast, temperate conditions in the west and southwest, and extreme heat and aridity in the north and east.
There is no ‘one size fits all’ Kenyan mushroom growing solution. For Mrs Njoroge’s button mushroom business, Maurice is training her team to create and manage a good compost heap under the shed.
“From the word go, from the first brick to the first mushroom, we are with them so that they can have a quality product”
Maurice Njagi
Mushrooms are trending…almost
Maurice helps contextualise why Makuno’s services are in high demand: because mushrooms are in high demand! Consumer interest in mushrooms— particularly button and oyster— is growing quickly, but sadly many farmers are struggling.
The time is ripe for wider adoption of fungi in Kenya. A younger urban crowd are interested in gourmet food, international cuisine, vegetarianism and alternative sources of protein, and is willing to spend a little more on this than their parent’s generation. Nutrition and health are high priorities and people want to know that their food is organic and free of chemicals.
Interestingly magic mushrooms, despite being highly illegal are helping to fuel a keen interest in fungi from the underground and are seemingly easy to access. Mostly, mushrooms look great on social media!
“All these factors have led to increased experimentation with new foods… for us as mushroom farmers, the timing is perfect!”
Maurice Njagi
From mycophobia to mycoprosperity?
While fungi may yet weave their way into a trendy urban lifestyle, there is some way to go in shifting traditional mindsets which are either unaware or wary of mushrooms. Most Kenyans are clouded with a mild mycophobia where mushrooms are considered ‘wild’, ‘poisonous’ or ‘inedible’ (although this does nuance in some regions– for example, communities in western Kenya incorporate wild-growing Termitomyces titanicus (farmed by termites) and Pleurotus (oyster mushrooms which grow naturally in forests) into their diets as primary protein sources).
Access to mushrooms remains an issue: select supermarkets like Naivas and Carrefour stock a decent range of button, cremini, oyster and some shiitake, but you won’t find fungi in informal street food markets where the masses are shopping. Of those aware of mushrooms, there is little knowledge of how to prepare or cook them.
“The same way I can go to a grocery [stall] and find kale, cabbage, carrots, onions… I also want the option to pick mushrooms. The vision for me is to make mushrooms affordable and accessible to everyone, while still making financial sense on the front end.”
Maurice Njagi
Kenya’s agriculture sector is the backbone of the economy, contributing 33% of the country’s GDP and employing more than 40% of the total population. At first glance mushroom farming seems an attractive income option for farmers who may lack access to large-scale agricultural operations: it can be relatively low-cost, it can be done on a small scale in a variety of climates, and mushrooms are fast-yielding.
The school of trial and error
Yet mushroom farmers face a range of challenges, including extreme weather conditions, soil degradation, a lack of knowledge and expertise, and a lack of access to formal training or education specific to the Kenyan environment. Most aspiring mushroom farmers are relying on YouTube, peer advice in WhatsApp groups or trial and error.
Cost and pricing is also an issue. Farmers struggle to secure markets for their produce and have to deal with brokers or middlemen conflating prices. Kenya’s button mushroom market is dominated by an importer setting low prices, making it harder for local small-scale farmers to be competitive. Initial capital investment is high and production costs have increased significantly. Mrs Njoroge tells of a ≈300% increase in the cost of wheat straw per kilogram since 2012 - yikes! All this, with little to no support or regulation from the national government.
“Sadly for every 2 successful mushroom farmers there are up to 7 failed farmers and we want to change that narrative.”
Maurice Njagi
Mushrooms can work in Kenya where other crops fail
Mushrooms can benefit Kenyan society and the environment in many ways. A small-scale mushroom farm can employ 20+ people. Dried and processed fruit bodies can increase nutrition and food security and decrease Kenya's reliance on relief food aid. According to USAID, around 1.3 million Kenyans are facing acute levels of food insecurity. Being climate resilient and adaptable, mushroom farms can work in Kenya where other crops fail. Outdoor conditions are less important when you can compost in a shed and control an indoor environment. In an ideal setup, farmers can grow all year round, unlike traditional crops.
If adopted by women of Kenya’s 9 million+ nomadic pastoral communities, mushroom growing and selling could contribute towards a sense of gender equity, helping to maintain balance in the roles and contributions within pastoral family structures– for example by giving women an income stream and self-sufficiency.
“What was just a hole [in the ground] is now a very healthy and very nutritious area to grow organic vegetables in”
Maurice Njagi
Creating a Circular Economy
Maurice believes that, above all else, mushrooms create circular and sustainable farming systems. Substrate and compost use waste products from chicken and wheat farming, as opposed to burning leftover straw which releases carbon emissions1. Button mushroom compost is re-purposed in gunny sacks (burlap bags) to create nutritious topsoil, address soil degradation, reclaim soil where roots can’t penetrate stony or rocky ground, and ultimately grow organic vegetables like onions. Vegetable waste in turn is used in the compost - genius!
But for mushrooms to flourish the farmers must flourish.
Farmers need to invest in quality farming inputs, training and information, as well as the appropriate infrastructure and technology to create a financially viable farm. They may also need to petition and work with local government for the support they need. Lastly, there’s a job to be done in creating awareness with Kenyan consumers about the benefits of mushrooms, to ensure they can sell to a willing market.
Thank you to the farmers
A community of weaver birds squawks overhead. Tractors and cows bring me back to this peaceful setting as Maurice and I are summoned to a mushroom-themed lunch with spinach and ugali (a staple corn meal made from maize or corn flour), prepared by our mushroom friends from Mycelia & Foods Ltd.
As is custom with this group of mycophiles and self-proclaimed ‘mushroom growers self-help group’, founder and director Anthony Githae leads us in prayer and a blessing of the food:
“Before indulging in this meal, we begin by thanking the farmer.”
Mush love.
🎙️ Listen to my podcast chat with Maurice here!
Next up in the tour!
Mrs Njoroge’s story: From cosmetics shop owner to mushroom maven
Behind the scenes: What to publish, when some of your research reveals shitty ideas?
For a detailed dive into how Kenya is embracing climate-smart agriculture, check out this report by the World Bank.