With mushroom farming thriving across the Bicol Region, researchers from Partido State University (ParSU) are exploring an innovative way to turn mushroom farming waste, known as spent mushroom substrate (SMS), into fish feed for tilapia cultivated through aquaculture. SMS is the leftover material used after mushrooms have been harvested. This organic mix, usually made from crop residues and fungal mycelia or the vegetative structures of fungi, is typically considered as agricultural waste.

Mushroom farming wastes potential tilapia feed. (2025, August 28). The Manila Times, p. B6.