Success Story: From a Single Room to ₹7 Lakh Monthly, Delhi Farmer Turns Mushrooms into Gold

New Delhi: Pawan Kumar, a farmer from Hasanpur village near Najafgarh, Delhi, has transformed his small-scale mushroom venture into a thriving business, inspiring countless aspiring agriculturists across India. What began in 2016 in a modest 22×25 sq ft room has now grown into a state-of-the-art “Hi-Tech Mushroom Farm” producing an average of 170 kg of button mushrooms daily, generating around ₹7 lakh per month.

Humble Beginnings

Pawan Kumar had long been engaged in traditional farming, but a friend’s advice in 2016 changed the course of his life. After undergoing mushroom cultivation training at an agricultural science center, he invested ₹5 lakh and started his farm in a small room. Equipped with racks and air conditioning to control temperature, he sourced high-quality compost externally, as urban Delhi regulations did not allow him to make it on-site.

Learning Through Experience

Initially, Pawan had no ready-made guidebook, and he learned the business through trial and error. His first harvest from a single room yielded 900 kg of mushrooms. By 2017, he expanded his farm to three rooms, and today it spans 3,150 sq ft across five large rooms, with production organized to ensure a consistent supply to the market.

Booming Profits

Pawan’s high-tech mushroom farm now generates approximately ₹90 lakh annually. Beyond button mushrooms, he also cultivates portobello and oyster mushrooms. During peak wedding season (November–December), demand surges and prices soar up to ₹400 per kg, while on regular days, prices range from ₹140–250 per kg. This success has significantly improved his family’s lifestyle, with his wife and son actively assisting in marketing and labor management.

Sharing Knowledge and Training Others

Pawan Kumar has extended his success to others by offering training to PhD students and aspiring entrepreneurs for a nominal fee of ₹10,000, helping them avoid common mistakes and start their own mushroom ventures. To date, over 40 mushroom units have been established across India under his mentorship.

Pawan’s journey demonstrates that with technology, proper training, and determination, modern agriculture can become one of the most profitable business opportunities today.

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