Nature Mushrooms II

Direct

• Promoting smallholder agriculture productivity: By implementing the controlled environment production rooms this loan will finance, during the final stages of mushroom production (Induction, Fruiting, and Resting) NR Nature can increase its output by 7% to 10%. This improvement is driven by the enhanced temperature stability provided by the production rooms, which outperforms traditional greenhouses. This stability is increasingly crucial as weather patterns become more frequent and exhibit greater temperature fluctuations.
• Improving the sustainability of mushroom production: The insulation of these production rooms significantly reduces substrate evaporation and allows for higher relative humidity using less water. Water consumption in greenhouses varies greatly depending on weather conditions, as water is also used to lower the temperature inside. This financing will enable NR Nature to reduce water consumption by 40%.
• Promoting the creation of Jobs: The increase in productivity induced by this loan will generate two more jobs in the production process.

Indirect

• Promoting the sustainable use of raw materials: NR Nature uses wood and wood-based substrates to grow shiitake mushrooms. This wood is sourced from furniture industry leftovers in Paços de Ferreira, significantly reducing the need for primary raw materials. To maximize resource efficiency, the company has implemented a waste management process in which the wood goes through the following stages:
  • Logs are first used for mushroom cultivation
  • Afterward, the logs are processed into substrate for more mushroom cultivation
  • The spent substrate is then used as fuel to heat the greenhouses
  • Finally, the resulting ash and remaining substrate are provided to local farmers for use as natural fertilizers

NR NATURE (NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT, LDA) is a Portuguese company, located in Vila do Conde, specializing in the production of Shiitake mushrooms on wooden logs, active since 2011.

The promoter decided to dedicate itself to mushroom production for the following reasons:

• Healthy food with high nutritional value
• Margin for growth, with a market where demand exceeds supply
• Efficient production in terms of resource consumption and production capacity
• Continuous production, without seasonal variability
• Low carbon footprint
• Low water requirements
• Suitable soil and climate conditions

After several tests, at the end of 2021, the promoter innovated his production method by switching to wood substrate, which proved to have several advantages over traditional production on wooden logs, without compromising the quality of the end product: reduced waiting time from purchase to production; less labor required; increased production capacity of the facilities (ten times higher). 

The consumption of shiitake has been growing in Europe and Portugal, due to its properties and in line with a general increase in mushroom consumption.

Over the last few years, the developer has been adapting to market demand. At the moment, NR Nature is working with producing partners to whom they offer training, technical support, and access to their substrate, in order to increase production while maintaining centralized marketing. NR NATURE's aim is, on the one hand, to support producing partners to guarantee high-quality mushrooms in competitive quantity and conditions and, on the other, to enable growers to achieve a stable business in the medium term.  

With this model, NR NATURE has increased its capacity to compete in larger markets, and the company is now exporting to several European countries.