Mushroom consumption in China is high and increasing annually. Global trends also indicate rising demand for mushroom consumption. To meet this surging demand and also assist in lifting communities in developing nations out of poverty, as per Sustainable Development Goal 1, ICRAF scientists have recently conducted targeted forest-fungi agroforestry training in India, China and Nepal. Training focused on inter-cropping medical plants and mushrooms with multipurpose trees to maximally utilise agricultural waste products and diversify sources of household income. Agrotechnicians were specifically taught how to cultivate two economically lucrative species, Ganoderma lucidum and Morchella. It is hoped that sustainably developing mushroom cultivation industries can simultaneously conserve the world's wild mushroom populations, protect natural habitats and boost rural incomes.
