Patna, Sep 9 : Mushroom farming, having emerged as a popular profession in Saharsa district of Bihar, is bringing drastic changes to the lives of women. With the government providing up to 90 per cent subsidy, villagers, including women, are opting for new employment opportunities under the scheme.

Women like Shashikala, Reena, and Priyanka are earning extra income, inspiring others and also boosting rural employment under the ambitious scheme. Many household women are moving towards self-employment by joining Digital Sakhi and Jeevika Didi.

Shashikala Devi, associated with the Jeevika Didi program, said that she learnt that additional income can be earned by working part-time along with the job.

A woman associated with Digital Sakhi yojana said, "The purpose of taking mushroom training is that when we go door-to-door to promote digital and financial literacy among women, we also inform them about mushroom training. This way, they can start their own businesses separately and run their livelihoods successfully in the future."

Priyanka Kumari, another Digital Sakhi associate, said, "Earlier, I used to work only at home as a housewife and did nothing else. My husband was also unemployed. But one of my friends was working with Digital Sakhi. I told her that I also wanted to do something, so she guided me. I went, took the exam, and joined as a Digital Sakhi. Through this, I started working, my children also got to study, and later I began doing part-time jobs as well..."

Sunita Paswan, Agricultural Scientist at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, shedding light on the scheme, said, "This training is a four-day certificate course focused on mushroom production techniques and processing. It is being provided so that women can disseminate this technology at the grassroots level'showing how to cultivate mushrooms, which are highly valuable both for health and in the international market."

This mushroom farming scheme is providing self-employment opportunities to women and unemployed youth. Also, the income of farmers is increasing due to the growing market and enhanced demand.

/IANS