Mushrooms save cranes and livelihoods in rural Uganda

In Uganda’s Rukiga district, oyster mushrooms are transforming lives and protecting wetlands. A simple farming shift is reviving ecosystems and securing income for struggling communities

Once mocked for growing mushrooms, Tumuhimbise Kedress now inspires her community with harvests that support her family and help save the endangered Grey Crowned Crane. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi.

In Uganda’s Rukiga district, a quiet transformation is taking root – one that is rewriting the future of rural livelihoods, revitalising wetlands, and helping save the iconic but endangered Grey Crowned Crane. The unlikely hero at the centre of this success story? The humble oyster mushroom.

It began as a seemingly far-fetched idea. The International Crane Foundation, renowned for its global efforts to protect cranes and their ecosystems, partnered with three local farming groups in mid-2024 to pilot a new project.

The goal: offer rural Ugandan communities a sustainable, alternative income stream that wouldn’t depend on harvesting resources from nearby wetlands, the crucial breeding ground for cranes.

For generations, these communities have relied on farming staples like beans, Irish potatoes, and sorghum – crops that take months to mature and yield meagre returns. A single sorghum harvest, for example, takes six months and yields approximately $53 (just less than Rs1000).

In the face of poverty, limited land, and poor soil fertility, some farmers had begun encroaching on wetlands for farming and firewood collection, threatening the fragile balance of the ecosystem and putting the survival of the Grey Crowned Crane at risk.

That’s where mushrooms came in.

“Mushroom cultivation emerged as the perfect solution—it requires minimal space, can be done year-round, and doesn’t depend on clearing wetland vegetation,” said Patrick Engoru, the International Crane Foundation’s Uganda country manager.

The initiative involved training local farmers to grow oyster mushrooms using agricultural by-products like sorghum husks as a growing medium. The startup costs were low – around $31 (about R550) for mushroom spawn – and within three months, a farmer could potentially earn more than $125 (about R2 200) from sales. Compared to traditional crops, the turnaround time and profits were revolutionary.

At first, the idea was met with hesitation, even ridicule.

“Before growing mushrooms, I thought people would not buy them as they were not common in the villages,” said Tumuhimbise Kedress, a member of Rwempango Tukwataniise, one of the participating groups. “When we started growing mushrooms, many community members would see me going to our growing site, and they would start pointing at me and laughing.”

But that initial scepticism quickly gave way to admiration. As mushroom harvests began yielding reliable income, neighbours who once mocked the growers became regular customers. The mushrooms, it turned out, were not only nutritious but also versatile – fitting seamlessly into Ugandan dishes like katogo as a protein substitute, helping families save on meat costs.

Beyond the financial uplift, the impact of the mushroom project has been deeply personal for many families.

This Article is written by Ivor Prince which was published in https://www.foodformzansi.co.za/

Link to the Article: https://www.foodformzansi.co.za/mushrooms-save-cranes-and-livelihoods-in-rural-uganda/