How ‘Mushroom Man of Bihar’ Sanjeev Kumar Helped 50,000 Farmers Earn
From mushroom spawn production to farmer training and organic manure, Sanjeev Kumar’s journey shows how innovation, agriculture, and rural entrepreneurship are creating sustainable livelihoods across Bihar.
For young people, the search for a good job and a better life in the city after completing an engineering education is a common route. This option was also before Sanjeev Kumar of Bihar’s Nalanda district, but he chose the village and farming. Coming from a farming family, Sanjeev combined the understanding of technology he gained from engineering with the traditional experience of farming and began to explore the possibilities in mushrooms. In this journey of nearly two decades, moving forward from mushroom production and training, he reached spawn—that is, mushroom seed—production. In his village Mohaddipur, he established the SABRI Spawn Lab. Today Sanjeev Kumar is known as the ‘Mushroom Man of Bihar’.
According to Sanjeev, so far he has trained more than 50,000 women and men farmers across different districts of Bihar. Now his plan, along with increasing spawn production capacity, is to prepare button mushrooms, processed products, and organic manure from the substrate left over after harvest. This effort is happening at a time when mushroom production has grown rapidly in India. According to a project report available on the website of the Bihar government’s Directorate of Horticulture, output rose from around 1.29 lakh tonnes in 2016 to around 3.99 lakh tonnes in 2024—more than tripling in eight years.
From Engineering to Village-Based Enterprise
Sanjeev Kumar, from Mohaddipur village in the Bind block of Nalanda, studied Electrical Engineering at B.I.T. Sindri (Ranchi University). Because he was raised in a farming family, agriculture was not new to him. Engineering gave him a perspective for understanding technology, while the initial understanding of farming came from his family. Together these experiences laid the foundation of his work.
In 2002, he took training in Solan, Himachal Pradesh. After this, he began cultivation. This was a time when, in the villages, a job was considered the more secure route to success for educated youth. Making farming a career—and that too with a relatively less common crop—was not an easy decision.
Sanjeev recalls, “In the initial years, the biggest challenge before us was winning people’s trust. There was very little information about mushrooms, and people did not easily believe in the quality of seed prepared in Bihar either. From 2002 to 2008, I struggled a great deal. Financial difficulties also came, and I had to listen to people’s remarks. The support of my family and the resolve of ‘Healthy Bihar, Prosperous Bihar’ gave me the strength to keep moving forward.”
Training More Than 50,000 Farmers
When Sanjeev began, his aim was not merely to build his own business. He also began to train surrounding farmers. Gradually, with the cooperation of governmental and non-governmental institutions, the scope kept expanding. He claims that so far more than 50,000 women and men farmers have been trained across different districts of Bihar. He has also provided technical support in the establishment of several controlled-environment units in Bihar and Jharkhand.
He believes that mushrooms can become a source of additional income for rural families. A large field is not needed, and agricultural residue such as paddy straw can be used as substrate. ICAR also views the activity as an income-generating opportunity for rural families and women entrepreneurs.
Sanjeev emphasises, “Our focus is more on ‘production by masses’ than on ‘mass production.’ Producing more in only a few large units is not enough. What is needed is that more people learn, earn from it, and include it in their food. If small-scale activity increases in the villages, employment opportunities will be created right there, and the local economy will benefit.”
Setting Up Bihar’s Largest Spawn Lab
After farming and training, Sanjeev established the SABRI (Systemic Agro Based Research Institute) Spawn Lab in Mohaddipur village. He claims this is Bihar’s largest mushroom spawn production facility. In the last three to four years, daily capacity has risen from 400 kilograms to around 600 kilograms, with a target of 1,000 kilograms per day.
In the lab, spawn is prepared for oyster, button, and milky varieties under controlled conditions using a semi-automatic system and energy-efficient equipment. At present, artificial intelligence is not in use, though an AI-supported controlled-environment system is under consideration. Ten trained employees work there—seven men and three women.
Sanjeev notes that earlier, button mushroom spawn was brought from Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi. Today, the lab supplies farms in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Haryana. “For me, this capacity being created in the village is more important than the business,” he says.
Turning Waste into Wealth
An important aspect of mushroom production is the use of agricultural residue. Many residues, including paddy straw, serve as substrate. ICAR-IARI has assessed the large volume of crop residue available in India, and experiments have shown that different residues can successfully support oyster mushrooms.
Sanjeev sees strong potential in the ‘Waste to Wealth’ model. The material left over after harvest—spent mushroom substrate (SMS)—can be converted into compost or used in other agricultural applications. “We have a large amount of agricultural residue available. If even a small portion of it is used and people make mushrooms a part of their food, opportunities can be created in both employment and nutrition,” he explains. Alongside production, awareness, processing, storage, and a strong supply chain remain essential.
Next Steps: Button Mushrooms, Processing, and Organic Manure
The SABRI Spawn Lab is preparing for the next phase. Sanjeev plans to start a button mushroom unit with an annual capacity of 200 tonnes from September, which will also serve as a training facility for youth. By the end of the year, a unit to prepare organic manure and vermicompost from SMS is planned. Later, processed products and shiitake cultivation will be introduced with a team of women and youth.
He stresses that increasing output alone will not be enough. Demand, market access, storage, processing, and supply chains must develop together. Institutional buyers such as government canteens, hospitals, and railways offer additional potential. While government schemes provide subsidies and training, he believes greater attention to market linkages, storage, and processing would create large-scale employment opportunities for women and youth through mushroom production.
Building Livelihoods in the Village
For his work in agriculture, environmental conservation, and the social sector, Sanjeev has received several awards, including the Bihar government’s ‘Kisan Shri’ (2006-07), the 2021 ‘Nelson Mandela Nobel Peace Award’ (Environment Care and Cultivation), the ‘Neelkanth Samman’, the ‘Sardar Patel Samman’, and the ‘Shyam Narayan Singh Samajik Sadbhavana Samman’. He has also been conferred an honorary doctorate and the title of Honorary Professor in Gandhian Philosophy and Peace of Humanity.
Yet the more important part of his story remains the decision he made nearly two decades ago: to stay in the village and apply technology to agriculture instead of taking a city job after engineering. His next goals are to raise spawn capacity to 1,000 kilograms per day, launch the 200-tonne button mushroom unit, and complete the value chain through processing and organic manure.
The real test of the model will not be production capacity alone. It will be decided by how many small farmers, women, and rural youth are able to earn a sustainable income, and how strongly the local market develops. In this direction, Sanjeev continues to advance his early idea of ‘production by masses’—so that mushroom production becomes a source of income for thousands of small entrepreneurs in the villages rather than the business of a few large producers.