In 2021, our flagship project, the Mushroom-based Integrated Food Production System (Mushroom-based IFPS) grew to reach about 4000 households through our TOT model and, thanks to the support of our various partners. This milestone meant that our training approach was effective and this was cause for celebration. Alas, we could not help noticing that our trained farmers were failing to consistently maintain and or increase productivity.
A continued reflection on the inconsistent productivity and interactions with the farmers brought to our attention that there existed a particular challenge with the access to inputs for mushroom farming - Fungiculture Input Supply Chain (FISC). Upon this realization, TFoHF set out to help provide mushroom growers with the convenience to acquire inputs under one roof, a one-stop shop where custom-packaged inputs could be accessed to enable the growers to just buy what they needed to utilize at any given time. Apart from helping farmers to save money and valuable time they would lose by traveling to several shops to acquire the various inputs, the shop would also enable farmers to easily access technical support from qualified personnel manning the shop.
A little less than a year after @TFOHF identified the problem, the first Mushroom Farmers' Shop has now been launched in Harare with the support of the World Food Program's (WFP) Innovation Accelerator.
