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"If we can get support for my trip, it will change the mushroom industry in Ghana. " |
For twelve years Bempah has been training farmers in rabbit, grass cutter (a large rodent valued for its sweet meat), snail, honey, and oyster mushroom production at BemCom. BemCom produces about 2,000 oyster mushroom bags a week. Bernard has built a campus with livestock houses, mushroom bag production facilities, and a building that will hold 20,000 mushroom bags as they mature. BemCom has trained thousands of farmers in small animal, honey and mushroom production. Bernard has won recognition in Ghana and in West Africa for his work and was one of only four people from developing nations sponsored to study oyster mushroom production in Seoule, South Korea. He has training in the theory of growing shiitake mushrooms, but has not seen actual log-growing operations.
A woman farmer in Ghana harvests oyster mushrooms in her Women's Cooperative cropping house.
If she could buy enough bags to fill these racks, she could support her family with her mushrooms.
Shiitakes could substantially increase her income and provide income when oyster mushrooms fail.
Oyster mushrooms grown on composted sawdust seemed to be the perfect solution for protein-starved diets across Africa, where millions of children die every year from protein deficiency. The wavy-leaf-shaped mushrooms thrive in tropical climates, are 10 percent protein, and they can grow prolifically when they have plenty of water. But for several years there has been a nation-wide contamination problem with the spawn (mushroom seed) used to produce the bags. US and Ghanaian scientists resolved the problem in 2008, but the number of growers declined sharply. The poverty level is high, 50% in the north, and oyster mushrooms offered the hope of self-sufficiency. It's hard work, but the farmers are willing to work. A child with kwashiorkor, a protein deficiency disease
The farmers are dependent on a single crop.
Diversifying, adding a second mushroom crop makes sense economically and agriculturally.
Shiitake mushroom growers Sandra and Doug Williams of Lost Creek Mushroom Farm volunteered for the OICI Farmer-to-Farmer program (www.oicinternational.org) and traveled to Ghana to work with oyster mushroom growers. Partnering with 501 (c) (3) Magical Child Foundation (www.magicalchild.org), the Williams' are raising money to bring Bernard Bempah and BemCom Production Manager Godwin Baokye to the US to increase their knowledge and understanding of shiitake production. A portion of Lost Creek Mushroom Farm log kit sales (www.shiitakemushroomlog.com ) are committed to the Mushrooms in Ghana Project.
"Sandra: We watched a woman carry water in a pan into her half-empty cropping house. Using one hand, she scooped up the water and tossed it into the mushrooms bags. She waters three times a day. If she could afford to buy them, her cropping house would hold over 1000 bags. "
Doug read an article stating that "Where mushrooms grow in Africa, there will be no more hunger." It could be so, but it has not turned out that way in Ghana, partly due to the contamination. In addition:
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The bags are expensive to buy and are highly susceptible to breakage and contamination. There is a single source of certified spawn in Ghana. When that source produced contaminated spawn, BemCom and other suppliers of the compost bags were unable to meet the demand. Consequently, incomes for the producers and for the 5,000-7,000 oyster mushroom farmers across Ghana fell way short of their possible profits. Farmers could not get enough bags and many gave up.
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Oyster mushrooms have a very short shelf life, 3-4 days, less in the intense heat. Most of BemCom's farmers have no electricity and no refrigeration.
There is a demand for low cost, protein-rich mushrooms in Ghana
Oyster bag producers are selling their bags, farmers are selling their mushrooms. A study in the city of Wa found that people who were buying oyster mushrooms were consuming a kilo a week (2.2 lbs).
Sandra: "We met Michael, a very successful grower in the capital city of Accra. He had electricity and enough water pressure to spray his bags and was selling 50 kilos a day. He made his own spawn and had no contamination. Bernard Bempah has the training to produce spawn. If he had the equipment, he could make his own oyster and shiitake spawn and reduce the cost, passing the savings on to the farmers."
WHY SHIITAKES?
Adding shiitake mushrooms to their production would diversify their crops,
increase the farmers' incomes
and enrich the protein-hungry Ghanaian diet
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Shiitakes are cheaper to grow and require less labor and water than oyster mushrooms.
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Shiitakes are high in protein, 18% (second only to meat by volume), low in fat, contain all the essential amino acids, and have significant health benefits.
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Shiitake mushrooms can improve general health because they strengthen the immune system and contain anti-viral compounds.
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Shiitakes grown on logs are disease resistant and can tolerate drought.
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Shiitakes have the familiar shape of a mushroom.
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They have a shelf life of 2-3 weeks.
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When grown on hardwood logs, rather than on sawdust blocks, they are not susceptible to the types of contamination found on the oyster mushrooms.
Doug: ''In the US we grow shiitakes on oak and other hardwood logs. The whole process is organic and ecologically sound. The logs are small-diameter timber that might otherwise be burned or used for low-grade construction materials. We researched types of wood that might support shiitakes in Ghana. Bernard is working with teak. It's plentiful and can resist the termites that took his first stand of shiitake logs.'' 
Sandra: ''We'll take Bernard and Godwin to visit shiitake operations and to spawn producers. Bernard will be making presentations at universities and in communities along the route. We need donations to cover the costs of travel and lab equipment. We need donated air miles to fly part of it and reduce the driving.
Godwin Baokye & Bernard Bempah
Help for the Mushrooms in Ghana Project has already come from Frank Michael of The MushroomPeople at The Farm in Summertown, Tennessee (www.mushroompeople.com).
Sandra: ''I sent e-mails from Ghana asking growers and suppliers in Africa, Asia, Europe and the US for sources of warm-weather spawn to start Bempah's shiitake operation. Frank offered to donate the spawn and another OICI Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer carried it to Ghana.
"Bernard Bempah has helped thousands of people become more self-sufficient through non-traditional farming. He is a man of vision and integrity. He's hard working and deeply committed to the BemCom motto, 'Freedom from poverty.' The knowledge, experience, and contacts he and Godwin make on this trip will change the mushroom industry in Ghana."
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For more of the story and more information go to www.shiitakemushroomlog.com. Tax-deductible contributions to bring Bernard Bempah to the US can be made to The Magical Child Foundation, Mushrooms in Ghana Project, PO Box 520, Perkins, OK 74059. Credit card contributions can be made by phone at 800-792-0053. Contact the Williams' at mushroomsinghana@yahoo.com or 800-792-0053/405-612-6814.
Sandra & Doug Williams
Thank you!
