SHIITAKE
Shiitake growing on the rise in Portugal
Extensive shiitake growing in Portugal has seen explosive growth in the past two years, encouraged by generous EU subsidies and enthusiastic growers. There are concerns too: lack of cultivation knowledge,
deforestation, and, you guessed it – over production. By Magda Verfaillie, Mycelia
I
n Portugal, historically an agricul- ture-based economy, farming today only accounts for 4 % of the gross domestic product, and the share of mushrooms in the GDP is practically zero. Annual mushroom consumption per capita is just 50 grammes, and the majority of these mushrooms are still imported. The north of the country is home to a few mushroom farms, but that is about all.
100% subsidy!
Until a couple of years ago, shiitake growing was virtually unknown in Portugal, but all that has changed thanks to the EU. A major part of the European budget for agricultural subsidies is earmarked for underdeveloped regions, which includes a large swathe of Portuguese territory. In this respect, the EU is particularly liberal to start-up growers who cultivate log-grown shiitake under plastic. If approached shrewdly, a new grower can obtain as much as 100% funding from the EU via the Portuguese state. So it is not surprising that such mushroom farms are literally cropping up all over the place. And in the slipstream of this phenomenon, a variety of small businesses are appearing: raw material suppliers,
equipment and consultancies, and customers for the produce. Everybody is trying to grab a slice of the cake, and there is nothing wrong with that, provided it’s to the benefit of all the stake- holders. One of the problems is that would-be growers are often total novices when it comes to mushroom growing and are dazzled by the freely flowing subsidies and the prospect of making an easy profit that is dangled like a carrot by some slightly unprincipled consultants. Fortunately, there are other sincere consultants who do offer growers sound technical training, and prepare them to face the harsh commercial reality of fluctuating prices for agricultural produce.
Eucalyptus versus oak With more than 34% of its surface area covered by trees, Portugal enjoys an ample supply of wood. Until the last century, these forests mainly con- sisted of species of oak, the two most important being the cork oak (Quercus suber) and the ever- green oak (Quercus ilex). In the early twentieth century, vast plantations of the fast-growing eucalypt species ‘Blue Gum’ (Eucalyptus globulus ) were established to supply the papermaking industry (Eucalyptus globulus) by providing a
Plastic tunnels at NR Nature.
Logs are inoculated with grain spawn.
Fruiting logs in a plastic shed under shade nets.
14 MUSHROOM BUSINESS
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