Sometimes it is hard to keep up with the pace of news. A week ago The Indian Express ran a story about Lal Muni Devi, a poor landless woman who had made a great success of turning wheat waste into mushrooms. Lal Muni had not even heard of mushrooms four years ago. Researchers from the Indian Institute for Agricultural Research turned up and trained 25 women from her village to grow mushrooms, and she was one of the most successful. Reason enough to report. But the reason The Indian Times seems to have published the story now is that Lal Muni Devi featured in a news story from CIMMYT, the International Centre for the Improvement of Maize and Wheat, more than a year ago! No matter, it is always good to read about successes in diversifying species to boost incomes.
Photo by Paras Nath from The Indian Express