Cultivating mushrooms, cultivating oneself:

JOLO MUSHROOM DELIGHTS

Mushrooms are now gaining popularity among Filipino agripreneurs. With the booming interest comes the demand for mushroom dishes and delicacies.

The Caraga Administrative Region is no exception as Jolo Mushroom Delights bravely works its way to winning the palates of the Filipino people.

Starting small

The son of a full-time housewife and a government employee in Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur,  Jomarie R. Jovellar saw the potential in mushrooms as a healthy snack and as a good source of income. Unable to pursue college due to financial constraints, Jomarie started self-studying and researching mushrooms and saw its health benefits. He was able to grow and source out mushrooms bags with a little capital.

“I was indeed gently becoming a visionary after days of seeing mushrooms grow beautifully in the bags,” said Jovellar.

Opportunities from YFCF

The Young Farmers Challenge Fund (YFCF) Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) helped Jovellar in operating and expanding his business. Through the YFCF financial grant that he won, he was able to order equipment that can cater large orders. This, of course, resulted in his being prepared for bulk orders.

“I only dreamt of having a small business, but YFCF made it happen—to expand and to make a young agripreneur fulfill his dreams,” recalled Jovellar.

Growing mushrooms, nurturing the self

Jovellar further shared how the YFCF Program helped him realize his purpose and potential as an individual.

“I became a visionary and I saw my purpose as a son and a person after receiving the grant. It helped me a lot, and the growth I experienced cannot be paid by any amount. Big thanks to YFCF,” he said.

JOLO Mushroom Delights are now actively sourcing out resellers and are supplying to stores within Agusan del Sur and its neighboring provinces. As for business expansion, Jovellar is waiting for their shipment from Korea.

The next step

After winning the DA’s YFCF Program, Jovellar already has his future plans laid out.

“Our future plan is to have our own physical store. As of now, we are looking for potential areas. But we are more focused presently on establishing our resellers and supplying to big entities,” he said.

From simply growing mushrooms, JOLO Mushroom Delights is now expanding its products to mushroom ice cream, mushroom crisps, lumpiang mushroom, and oyster mushroom jam. ###