About this module
Level 1 taught you to grow a crop. Level 2 teaches you to grow it bigger, cleaner and cheaper, and to know your real profit.
Who it is for. People who have finished Mushroom Production (Level 1), or who can show the same skills. National Proficiency II covers varied work, mostly routine, under limited supervision.
CTVET status. No mushroom programme appears on CTVET's lists of approved competency-based programmes. This module is not a CTVET curriculum. It follows CTVET's format so it can be put forward later. Most of the Ghana science here comes from CSIR-Food Research Institute (CSIR-FRI) in Accra.
Bridge from Level 1: what you already know
- Hygiene, masks, hot-drum rules; never pick or sell wild mushrooms
- A small local-material house with racks, shade, damp and air
- The Ghana sawdust recipe: 10% rice bran, 1% lime, about 70% moisture, composted 21–28 days
- Bagging about 1 kg per bag; steaming about 3 hours from boiling; cooling before spawning
- Spawning with bought spawn near an alcohol flame; incubation in the dark
- Opening bags, misting, harvesting young, weighing and recording yield
- Location checklist, extra products, a WhatsApp Business catalogue, and a cost per bag
Level 1 did not cover making your own spawn, other waste substrates in detail, pasteurisation versus sterilisation, pests, other species, drying and processing, or a full business costing. Level 2 covers these. Wild foraging and identifying wild mushrooms remain outside this course.
How the module works
Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, the range and the evidence your assessor needs. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent. About 70% of the time is practical, following CTVET's Oil Palm programme split of about 30% school and 70% workplace.
Unit 1 · Work safely with pressure, steam and chemicals
At Level 2 the hazards are bigger: pressure cookers, steam drums, flames, disinfectants and more spores.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 1.1 Use a pressure cooker or autoclave safely | follows the opening and cooling steps and never forces the lid |
| 1.2 Handle steam, flame and chemicals | uses gloves and eye protection; never mixes chemicals |
| 1.3 Protect lungs and skin | wears a mask in the growing and spawning rooms |
| 1.4 Keep to the wild-mushroom rule | explains why every mushroom sold is cultivated from known spawn |
Range. Whole production cycle, spawn room and growing house. Evidence. Observation every session; oral questions.
The wild-mushroom rule, again
Wrongly identified wild mushrooms make people ill and sometimes kill them each year. Never pick, buy to resell or serve wild mushrooms. Buy spawn only from a reliable source such as CSIR-FRI. If you try a new species, get its spawn from a supplier who names it. Do not identify mushrooms by looking at them.
Pressure cookers and autoclaves
Grain spawn is sterilised under pressure. Reports describe autoclaving at 121 °C for about 15–30 minutes. A pressure cooker is a sealed vessel full of steam. Follow the maker's manual. The rules below are safety rules, not recipes:
- Never open it until the pressure is zero and the lid turns freely. Never force the lid.
- Check the safety valve, rubber seal and vent before every use. Do not block them.
- Use dry thick gloves. Open the lid away from your face. Keep children and visitors out.
- Never leave a cooker on a hot fire without watching it. Keep water or sand near the fire.
Steam drums, flames and alcohol
Let a hot drum cool for about 20 minutes before opening. Keep 70% alcohol away from the alcohol lamp: never pour alcohol near a lit flame. Put the lamp out before you refill it.
Disinfectants
Chlorine or bleach can burn the skin and eyes. Wear gloves and eye protection. Never mix chlorine with other chemicals or acids. Keep every container labelled, locked away and out of reach of children.
Spores
Years of breathing spore clouds can cause lung illness; one oyster mushroom grower became ill after six years. Wear a mask when you open bags, harvest or clean the house. Anyone who coughs a lot, or breathes with difficulty, should stop and see a health worker.
Safe spawn room
- Walk through the growing house and spawn room with a hazard list. Mark the fire, steam and chemical points.
- Write the opening steps for a pressure cooker on a card and put it on the wall.
- Practise the label, lock and store rule for alcohol and bleach.
- Wear your mask and gloves for one full cleaning session.
Safety card
Write a one-page safety card for your own spawn room or kitchen. Show it to someone at home.
Unit 2 · Scale up the growing house and control the climate
A bigger house is only a better house if the air, water and bag flow are right.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 2.1 Plan a bigger house | works out bag capacity, rack layout and traffic flow |
| 2.2 Control humidity and temperature | keeps records and adjusts misting, shade and ventilation |
| 2.3 Run staggered batches | plans a weekly bag schedule so a harvest comes every week |
Range. A house for 500 to 4,000 bags. Evidence. Layout plan; climate record; batch schedule.
How big?
FAO says a house of 2 m × 3 m holds about 1,000 bags and one of 5 m × 6 m holds about 4,000. It advises a site above flood level, near water, with good air flow. Move to a bigger house only when you can sell what you already grow.
Clean side, dirty side
Plan the flow in one direction: compost and bagging → steaming → cooling and spawning room → incubation (dark) → growing house → packing. Never carry spent bags or dirty crates back through the spawning room. Put a footbath or hand-wash at the door of each room.
Humidity and temperature
- Keep humidity at 75–90% by misting often but not much each time; open and close doors to control air and heat.
- Fresh oyster mushrooms are themselves 75–90% water, which is why they dry out and spoil fast.
- Ghana strains took about 22–48 days to fill the bag in studies, and the first flush was by far the biggest.
- Cooler air at night and damp floors help. Shade net or a thick thatch roof lowers heat. Mist the walls and floor, not only the bags.
- Deformed mushrooms mean poor air or too much humidity.
Heat is a problem in the south. No Ghana source was found giving the best temperature for each strain. Use a thermometer and a humidity meter, record morning and afternoon readings, and ask CSIR-FRI which strain suits your site.
Staggered batches
A single crop gives one big harvest then little. Start a new batch every week (or every two weeks) so there is always something to harvest, and so one disease does not wipe out everything. Label every rack with the batch date.
Accessibility in the house
Keep paths level and wide, racks low enough to reach from a wheelchair, and a water trench that can still be crossed.
How many bags?
A house is 5 m × 6 m. Using FAO's figure, about how many bags does it hold? You start 400 bags a week and each bag stays in the house for 6 weeks before it is thrown out. How many bags will be in the house at a time once the system is full? Will it fit?
Climate and batches
- Draw a layout of a 5 m × 6 m house with the one-way flow marked. Mark racks, paths, door and water.
- Record temperature and humidity morning and afternoon for two weeks. Plot them on a chart.
- Plan a four-week batch schedule for 200 bags a week. Label the racks.
Climate at home
Take a thermometer reading under a roof at your home at 7 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. for three days. Where is it coolest?
Unit 3 · Substrates from Ghanaian wastes; pasteurise and sterilise
Sawdust is not everywhere. Learn what else works, what yields less, and how to treat it.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 3.1 Compare waste substrates | explains which wastes work and gives biological efficiency |
| 3.2 Prepare a waste substrate | chops, wets, mixes and treats it correctly |
| 3.3 Choose heat treatment | explains pasteurisation, sterilisation and when to use each |
| 3.4 Check yield and cost | records weights and compares substrates |
Range. Sawdust, rice husk, rice straw and maize residues. Evidence. Mixing and treatment record; trial results.
Which waste works?
Biological efficiency (BE) is the weight of fresh mushrooms divided by the weight of dry substrate, multiplied by 100. In Ghana research:
| Substrate | Result |
|---|---|
| Sawdust media | about 60% BE |
| Maize stalk + rice bran | about 39% |
| Maize husk + rice bran | about 32% |
| Maize cob + rice bran | about 9.5% |
Rice straw with composted sawdust and additives reached about 76% BE, composted sawdust with additives about 65%, and rice straw alone about 56%. A mix of rice straw and rice husk at 1:1 was reported as an alternative substrate in rice-growing areas, and crop residues are a possible choice in non-forest zones where carting sawdust is costly. Composted sawdust gave better yields than fresh sawdust.
Cassava peels, and mixed recipes. A 2015 study with CSIR-FRI's Mary Obodai grew oyster mushrooms on fermented cassava peels and stems from Ghana (the bags were grown in the Netherlands): mixes with up to 75% cassava peel gave yields close to sawdust, adding rice or wheat bran raised yields, biological efficiency after three flushes was 38–100%, and spawn was added at 30 g per kg of substrate. Peels vary, so run a small trial of 10 bags beside your sawdust bags and compare yield and mould. Maize cobs gave very low yield alone, so mix them with other wastes only after a trial.
Western Region timber firms produce plenty of sawdust; in one survey, 80% of timber firms did not manage their waste. Ask at the sawmill which tree the sawdust is from; oyster mushrooms in Ghana have been grown on composted sawdust of wawa.
Pasteurisation or sterilisation?
- Sterilisation aims to kill all micro-organisms, usually with pressure above 121 °C. Pasteurisation heats to about 60–80 °C to reduce, not remove, them. In Level 1 you steamed bags at about 95–100 °C for hours, which is a steam treatment in a drum.
- Hot-water pasteurisation of straw: soaking at 65–80 °C for about one to two hours has been used. A test on lignocellulose substrates found 60 °C for 30 minutes cut green mould during spawning.
- Straw and husks are cheaper to treat by hot water or steam than by pressure, but they are less forgiving. The cleaner your site and the fresher your spawn, the better pasteurisation works.
Which treatment is best for you? Sources disagree on exact times and temperatures, and no Ghana study compares pasteurised and steamed rice husk. Keep the same time and temperature for a batch, record them, and compare mould rates over three batches.
Preparing a waste substrate
- Chop straw or cobs to small pieces (a few centimetres) so spawn can run through.
- Wet evenly and use the squeeze test from Level 1.
- Mix with rice bran and lime as for sawdust, and ferment or heat-treat as you decided.
- Fill, press, ring and plug, then steam or pasteurise and cool.
Spent bags can be composted, used as chicken bedding or used in nursery soil.
Which is the better buy?
You have 10 kg of dry sawdust substrate that gave 6 kg of fresh mushrooms, and 10 kg of dry maize stalk with rice bran that gave 3.9 kg. (1) Work out the BE of each. (2) Maize stalk costs GH¢2 per 10 kg and sawdust costs GH¢8 per 10 kg. Which gives cheaper mushrooms per kg?
Waste substrate trial
- Prepare 10 bags of sawdust mix and 10 bags of rice husk or maize stalk mix, same weights, same treatment.
- Record weights, moisture check, treatment time and temperature.
- Spawn with the same spawn on the same day and label by substrate.
- Later weigh each flush and calculate BE for each substrate.
Waste survey
List every farm or processing waste near your home (rice mill, maize farm, sawmill, cassava processing) and ask what happens to it now.
Unit 4 · Make your own grain spawn
Spawn is the seed of the mushroom. Making it yourself cuts costs, but one dirty hand can ruin a whole batch.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 4.1 Prepare grain | boils, drains, mixes additives and fills containers |
| 4.2 Sterilise grain | uses a pressure cooker or autoclave safely and records time |
| 4.3 Inoculate cleanly | transfers mother spawn using sterile technique |
| 4.4 Incubate and judge | checks colonisation and rejects contaminated spawn |
Range. Grain spawn from mother spawn (from a supplier). Agar and tissue culture are not taught here. Evidence. Spawn record; observation; spawn tested on bags.
What is grain spawn?
Spawn is grain covered in mushroom threads (mycelium) used like seed. CSIR-FRI researchers tested sorghum and millet grains, alone and mixed, for making oyster mushroom spawn, then used the spawn on composted sawdust. Sorghum is easy to find; the study's grains came from a market in Accra. Training notes from India describe sorghum colonising in about 7 days at the quickest.
Where the numbers come from. The grain-spawn steps below come from Indian training notes and research summaries, not a Ghana step-by-step guide. Confirm every step with CSIR-FRI or an experienced Ghana spawn producer before you sell spawn. CSIR-FRI sells spawn and runs training.
Steps
- Get mother spawn from a reliable source. Do not try to isolate cultures from mushrooms you find.
- Wash and half-cook the grain. Notes describe semi-cooking at about 80 °C for 20 minutes, then draining so grains are soft but do not burst.
- Add chalk (calcium carbonate) to keep the pH right and, if used, gypsum so grains do not clump; amounts quoted are 0.5% chalk and 2% gypsum.
- Fill jars or heat-resistant bags about two-thirds full and plug with cotton wool.
- Sterilise under pressure. Autoclaving at 121 °C for 15–30 minutes is described; some sources repeat after 24 hours. Steaming and pressure cooking are also reported for sorghum. Time starts when the full pressure is reached.
- Cool fully in a clean place. Hot grain kills mother spawn.
- Inoculate in a still, clean room: wash hands, wipe the table with 70% alcohol, work near the flame, open the container only for a moment, and transfer a small piece of mother spawn.
- Incubate in the dark. Shake the container gently after a few days so threads spread. Reject any container with green, black, orange or pink patches or a sour smell.
Low-cost spawn-making methods for farmers have been published in Kenya; the abstract is the only page seen.
Sterile technique, in plain words
- Work in a room with closed windows and fans off.
- Clean the table, tools and your hands with alcohol before you start.
- Open containers for the shortest time possible.
- Flame the tool, let it cool, then touch the spawn.
- Label every container with the date, grain and who made it.
- A laminar flow hood with a HEPA filter is the best way to reduce airborne spores, but it is not needed to start.
How much spawn?
At Level 1 FAO's figure was 10–20 spawn-covered grains per bag. Producers differ in how many bags one container of grain spawn will inoculate, so measure your own: count the bags you spawn per container and record the result.
Plan your spawn
Suppose one grain-spawn bag inoculates about 30 substrate bags (an example, not a standard; measure your own). You plan to spawn 500 bags. (1) How many grain-spawn bags do you need? (2) Plan 10% extra for failures. How many do you make?
Make a spawn batch
- Wash, half-cook, drain and fill grain; add chalk; plug.
- Sterilise in the pressure cooker (or watch a producer do it). Record the start, the pressure time and the cool-down.
- Inoculate five containers with mother spawn using sterile technique.
- Incubate; check and record twice a week; reject contaminated ones.
- Test your spawn on 20 bags against bought spawn on 20 bags; compare days to full colonisation.
Spawn log
Draw a log sheet with the columns: date, grain, weight, time under pressure, mother spawn source, containers, contamination, comments.
Unit 5 · Contamination, pests, and species beyond oyster
Find the problem when it is small. Learn the other species, but only from known spawn.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 5.1 Recognise contamination | tells green mould from healthy mycelium and removes bags correctly |
| 5.2 Control flies and mites | uses screens, traps, hygiene and timing |
| 5.3 Trace a loss | records and traces a loss to its likely cause |
| 5.4 Know other species | names species grown in Ghana and the rule on identification |
Range. Oyster mushrooms; other species by knowledge only. Evidence. Loss record; pest log; oral questions.
Green mould and other contaminants
Green mould (Trichoderma) can destroy a crop; it comes on dirty substrate, air, tools, clothes and animals. Remove an infected bag at once, away from the house. Do not open it inside, because the spores spread.
Fungus gnats can carry Trichoderma spores on their bodies. So controlling flies also controls mould.
- Bags in the dark room: check twice a week and sniff for sour smells.
- Remove suspect bags in a closed bag to a place far away; do not shake them.
- Clean racks and floors with a safe, labelled cleaner between batches.
- Wash hands and change clothes between the spawning room and the growing house.
- Use spawn from the same source and date so you can trace a problem.
Flies, mites and ants
- Fungus gnats (such as Lycoriella) feed on young mushrooms and reduce yield; dead gnats contaminate harvested mushrooms.
- A biological treatment, Bti, reduced adult gnats by 40–89% in one study. Sticky cards of 5 cm × 5 cm were used to trap them. Ask CSIR-FRI or MoFA before using any product.
- Put sticky traps near doors and fit fine insect screen on every opening.
- FAO advises: separate mite-infested bags and pasteurise again; use a black-light with water or sticky traps; lemongrass around the house; lime on shelves and floor; detergent-water on ant trails.
- For bacterial spot, FAO says keep humidity 80–85% and let the mushroom surface dry between mistings. It gives a severe-case chlorine treatment. As a foreign guide, Penn State University advises button-mushroom farms in the USA to add sodium hypochlorite (bleach) to watering water at 150 ppm chlorine, and warns that it works only if the caps dry afterwards; if caps stay wet, the bacteria win. That figure is for button mushrooms, not oyster. Ask CSIR-FRI which product and strength to use. Do not guess, and never make it stronger.
Never use farm pesticides in the growing house. Mushrooms are eaten; sprays can leave residues. Use screens, traps and cleanliness first. Use only a product that a trusted adviser says is safe for mushrooms, and follow its label.
Tracing a loss
When you lose bags, ask: which batch? which substrate? which spawn? which steaming day? which rack? Write it in the loss record. A pattern shows the cause. For example, if all bags from one steaming day failed, suspect the steaming.
Species beyond oyster
Since 1990 most Ghana cultivation has been oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus, P. sajor-caju) and wood ear (Auricularia); Lentinus squarrosulus was tried experimentally; introduced strains include Pleurotus eous and a Volvariella volvacea strain from Ghana. A Takoradi seller advertises Volvariella (the "Domo" straw mushroom) spawn at GH¢15, alongside oyster spawn at GH¢10–20.
Rules for new species. Grow only a species whose spawn comes with a name and instructions. Each species needs its own substrate, temperature and handling. Start with 10 bags and record everything. Never taste, sell or serve a mushroom that grew by itself in your bags. Prices for shiitake and cloud ear listed on Jiji may be imported or may be dried by other growers: origin was not verified.
Loss and pest log
- Inspect the house with a checklist: traps, screens, bags, floor, drains.
- Set sticky cards and count the flies every week for three weeks.
- Fill in a loss record for any bag that failed. Write the likely cause.
- Write a short talk on why we never forage, and give it to the class.
Look at a trader
Visit a market mushroom seller. Ask where the mushrooms come from and whether they are cultivated. Report what you learned.
Unit 6 · Location, value addition and business ideas
A good site and a second product can double what your mushrooms earn.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 6.1 Choose a site for scale | scores the site and explains what returns it gives |
| 6.2 Dry and store mushrooms | dries, packs and stores safely |
| 6.3 Plan value-added products | chooses products and checks the rules |
| 6.4 Use ingenuity | proposes three new income ideas |
Range. A real or planned site and product list. Evidence. Location report; dried sample; product plan.
Location settings that give good returns
- Sawdust and wastes close. Near sawmills and carpentry yards, rice mills or maize farms; sawdust trading became a business in Promush.
- Clean water close by. Water shortage was one of the three biggest problems reported by Accra growers.
- Buyers close. Most Greater Accra growers sell more than half their crop to hotels, restaurants and homes. In Takoradi look near hotels, chop bars, markets, schools, the port area and estates.
- Shade and air, above flood level, away from dust and animals.
- Quiet and secure, with a place to lock the spawn room.
- Access for all: level paths and low racks.
Dry mushrooms
Drying lets you sell when fresh mushrooms are in surplus. Studies at CSIR-FRI dried oyster mushrooms in a tunnel solar dryer at a mean temperature of about 53 °C. A solar-powered dryer dried white oyster mushrooms at 50–60 °C to a moisture of about 8%. Dried mushrooms sealed airtight can keep for long, and can be ground into powder for cooking or baking. FAO notes that solar or electric drying cannot be done in rainy weather unless the dryer is protected.
Practical rules: harvest young; wipe, slice evenly; dry on clean racks away from dust; dry until the mushroom snaps and is dry through; cool; pack in clean airtight jars or bags. Label with the date.
Ideas to add value
- Dried oyster mushrooms. Advertised in Greater Accra from about GH¢35 to GH¢120 (units not stated; mostly Accra).
- Mushroom powder for soups and stews.
- Pickled mushrooms and fried or shredded snacks. FAO's guide lists pickling with soya sauce, fermented mushrooms and a fried dried-mushroom snack.
- Mushroom shito and sauces. DeliMush supplies sauces through over 100 retailers.
- Spawn and fruiting bags for beginners. Takoradi listings: oyster spawn at GH¢10–20, ready-made substrate bags at GH¢5 and fruiting bags at GH¢10, units and quality not verified.
- Training and guides. The same Takoradi seller advertises training and a GH¢100 how-to guide.
- Spent bags as compost, chicken bedding or nursery soil.
FDA registration is needed for packaged products: cottage-industry registration is GH¢150 per product for three years. Check the current fee with FDA before you pack for shops.
Ingenuity: ideas from the field
- A weekly "mushroom box" for chop bars with recipes
- School and church demonstration days for children and parents
- Cooking classes at a hub, using your own dried and fresh mushrooms
- Farm-to-hotel contract with fixed days
- Joining a group of growers to buy lime, bags and rice bran together
- Selling spent bags to gardeners
Which drying plan pays?
Fresh mushrooms sell for GH¢50 per kg. About 10 kg of fresh mushrooms make 1 kg of dried mushrooms (an example; test your own). Dried mushrooms sell at GH¢120 per kg. (1) What is 10 kg of fresh worth? (2) What is the 1 kg of dried worth? (3) Is drying worth it? What else must you count?
Dry and pack
- Slice a kilo of fresh mushrooms and weigh them.
- Dry them on a clean rack in a solar or tray dryer. Weigh again.
- Pack in airtight jars with a label. Calculate the weight ratio and its cost.
- Score a real site with the checklist and write a one-page location report.
Three products
Write three product ideas, their ingredients, who would buy them and what rule (such as FDA registration) applies.
Unit 7 · Market, price, cost and train others
Sell a reliable product at a fair price, know your costs, and teach what you know.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 7.1 Market yourself | uses WhatsApp Business, Google Business Profile, signage and referrals |
| 7.2 Win and keep buyers | follows the rules for hotels, markets and supermarkets |
| 7.3 Cost and price | works out cost per kg, break-even and profit |
| 7.4 Keep records | keeps batch, loss, harvest and sales records |
| 7.5 Train others | plans and gives a short training session |
Range. The trainee's own planned business. Evidence. Marketing pack; costing; records; training session.
Market yourself
- WhatsApp Business has a catalogue (up to 500 items), labels (up to 20) and quick replies (up to 50). Use a label for each buyer type, like "hotel", "chop bar", "home". Save quick replies with price, delivery days and ordering rules.
- Google Business Profile is free and puts you on Google Search and Maps; verification can be by video, phone, email or a postcard that takes about 14 days. Add photos, opening hours, phone number and area served.
- Signage: a clear board at the farm gate or market table, with your name, number and "fresh oyster mushrooms".
- Portfolio: photos of your house, harvests, dishes and customers (with permission), with dates.
- Referrals: ask every buyer to introduce one more. Give a small thank-you.
- Tastings and recipes: most people have never cooked mushrooms, so cook small portions and give a simple recipe card.
Selling to hotels, supermarkets and schools
FAO lists the farm, markets, restaurants, hotels and supermarkets as outlets and advises harvesting young and packing clean. Greater Accra growers sell more than half to hotels, restaurants and homes. A study of growers trained by CSIR-FRI ranked poor marketing as their top problem.
- Visit the chef or purchasing officer with a small sample and a price list.
- Promise only what you can deliver every week; agree a delivery day and time.
- Pack clean, trimmed, in the same size bags every time; weigh in front of the buyer.
- Keep a delivery book that the buyer signs.
- For supermarkets, ask what they need (FDA registration, labels, barcodes). Not verified.
Prices
What is the price? Jiji prices for fresh oyster mushrooms in Greater Accra range from about GH¢10 to GH¢100 with unclear units, and no Western Region fresh-mushroom listing appeared on 7 October 2026. Dried oyster mushrooms are advertised at GH¢35–120. Online claims of huge profits are not believable. Ask three local buyers what they pay, then set your price.
Costing at Level 2
Include every cost: substrate, bran, lime, bags and rings, spawn (or grain, gas, alcohol and cotton wool), fuel, water, labour, transport, packaging, labels, phone data, repairs and the loss from mould. Divide by kilos harvested. Promush farmers averaged about GH¢2,300 a month. A 2000 study of growers trained at CSIR-FRI found a benefit-cost ratio of 1.35; that is old, so do your own sums.
Own spawn or bought spawn?
You grow 500 bags. These example costs are per 100 bags: sawdust GH¢50, rice bran GH¢80, lime GH¢20, bags and rings GH¢150, firewood GH¢100, labour GH¢300 (total GH¢700 before spawn). Bought spawn costs GH¢300 per 100 bags. Your own spawn costs GH¢120 per 100 bags (grain, gas, alcohol, cotton wool, labour). Each bag yields 0.3 kg, 10% of bags are lost to mould, and you sell at GH¢60 per kg. (1) Total cost of 500 bags with bought spawn. (2) Total cost with own spawn. (3) Kilos of mushrooms and income. (4) Profit in each case. (5) The break-even price per kg with own spawn.
Records that matter
- Batch sheet: date, substrate, weights, treatment times and temperatures
- Spawn log: grain, time under pressure, containers, contamination
- Climate record: temperature and humidity, twice daily
- Harvest record: kilos per batch, per flush and per bag
- Loss record: bags lost, stage, probable cause
- Sales and delivery book: buyer, kilos, price, date, paid or not
- Cost sheet and monthly profit
Train others
A short session has one aim, a demonstration, time to practise and a check. Teach one skill at a time, such as "how to open a bag" or "how to spot green mould". Keep a register of who attended. Take one trainee at a time through a full cycle. Say clearly that you teach what you do, not wild mushroom identification.
In Takoradi in 2024, 54 women, nine of them with disabilities, were trained in mushroom production and given start-up kits.
Groups and support
A national "Mushroom Growers and Exporters Association" was reported in 2015, with about 500 members including spawn producers, croppers, baggers and marketers. A 2025 review says the Mushroom Growers and Exporters Association of Ghana (MUGREAG) was legally registered in July 1994 and has moved to a new body, the Ghana Mushrooms Growers and Exporters Federation (GAMGREF). Whether Western Region has a branch, and current contacts, were not verified; ask CSIR-FRI or MoFA before paying any membership fee.
Accessibility
The Persons with Disability Act 2006 (Act 715) supports people with disabilities; the Assemblies' disability fund was reported to rise from 3% to 5% in 2026, and Assemblies have been giving equipment and cash grants. Ask your Metropolitan, Municipal or District Assembly (such as STMA or Ahanta West) about its Disability Desk. Mushroom work can be done seated, and FAO wrote its mushroom guide for people with disabilities. Use large-print and picture records, and give instructions in the form each person can follow.
Launch pack
- Update your WhatsApp Business catalogue with labels and quick replies.
- Draft a Google Business Profile entry (name, area, hours, photos). Do not submit anything you cannot verify.
- Visit one hotel or chop bar with a sample and price list. Record the response.
- Complete the costing exercise with your own figures.
- Give a ten-minute training session to the class.
First big order
Get an order from one hotel, school or supermarket buyer and agree a delivery day. Write down what they asked for.
Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Autoclave | A machine that sterilises with steam under pressure |
| Biological efficiency | Fresh mushroom weight divided by dry substrate weight, times 100 |
| Competent / Not Yet Competent | The two possible results of a CBT assessment |
| Fungus gnat | A small fly whose larvae damage mushrooms and spread green mould |
| Grain spawn | Cooked grain covered in mycelium, used to seed bags |
| Mother spawn | Clean spawn used to make more spawn |
| Pasteurisation | Heating to about 60–80 °C to reduce germs, not remove all |
| Sterile technique | Working so germs are kept out of the spawn |
| Sterilisation | Killing all germs, usually under pressure |
| Substrate | The material the mushroom grows on |
| Trichoderma | Green mould that destroys the crop |
Logbook
Copy these pages into an exercise book. Your logbook is part of your assessment evidence.
- Unit 1: safety card; spawn-room hazard walk
- Unit 2: layout plan; climate chart; batch schedule
- Unit 3: mixing and treatment record; waste trial results; BE sums
- Unit 4: spawn log; spawn test on bags
- Unit 5: pest log; loss records; trader visit
- Unit 6: dried sample record; location report; three products
- Unit 7: marketing pack; costing; records; training notes
- Every homework, dated
Self-check quiz
- What must you do before opening a pressure cooker?
- Why do you never pick wild mushrooms to sell?
- About how many bags does a 5 m × 6 m house hold, according to FAO?
- What is biological efficiency?
- Which waste substrate gave the lowest yield among the maize residues?
- What is the difference between pasteurising and sterilising?
- Why must grain cool before you inoculate it?
- Name three parts of sterile technique.
- How can flies help spread green mould?
- Name two ways to control flies without farm pesticides.
- Which is better value for a seller: fresh or dried? Say why it depends.
- Name three things a WhatsApp Business catalogue helps with, or two records you must keep.
Further reading and sources
Best next reads: CSIR-Food Research Institute's mushroom research and training; FAO's mushroom guide for people with disabilities; FDA Ghana's registration page for packaged foods.
What this module does not cover: agar culture and tissue culture, wild mushroom identification, building a large environmentally controlled farm, export rules, and current Takoradi fresh mushroom prices (none found; ask local buyers).
Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.