other reason for high participation from these
states is their vicinity to Solan.
The results are an indication of increasing
interest about the national mushroom mela
among the stakeholders. Till recently,
mushrooms were at large for the bourgeoisie
because of their cost, unawareness about
mushroom recipes, myths regarding their nonvegetarian
status, fear about poisonous
mushrooms, perishability, non-availability in
the local markets, etc. However, mushrooms are
gaining importance in recent times in the wake
of increasing health awareness among the
people and nutritional security offered by
mushrooms. These factors are drawing the
attention of the farmers, industrialists and
businessmen to venture into the mushroom
production, processing and marketing
activities. As a result, the stakeholders look for
mushroom mela as a significant source of
information for their activities.