Would you have expected this about the humble plant in Goa's backyard too?
FN
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Bamboo is India's 'green gold' By Lola Nayar
BAMBOO TREES IN INDIA. THE PLANT IS CALLED GREEN GOLD IN THE COUNTRY FOR ITS
MULTIPLE USES AND GREAT ECONOMIC POTENTIAL.
NEW DELHI: It is expected to create eight million jobs, lift five million
families out of poverty and earn $3.6 billion by 2007. Little wonder then that
the humble bamboo is called 'green gold' in India, the country that has the
second-largest reserve of bamboo in the world.
India is looking to not only develop a bamboo-based economy in the country but
also tap the growing global demand for bamboo. As against an estimated demand
for 26.9 million tons of bamboo, India is currently able to supply only 13.47
million tons.
The country today exploits just a tenth of its bamboo-producing potential. The
commercial consumption of bamboo globally is worth around $10 billion, which is
expected to reach $20 billion by 2015.
India's share in the global market is estimated to be $1 billion and is
expected to increase to $5.7 billion by 2015. China's share in the world bamboo
market is currently the highest at $5 billion.
"There is a growing realisation that the potential of bamboo in the country has
not been tapped to its fullest. Bamboo is being rediscovered in India as its
attributes and potential are increasingly recognised," said Prodipto Ghosh,
secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
According to the Forest Survey of India report, about 12.8 percent of total
forest area is under bamboo cultivation, with the northeast region accounting
for 66 percent of the country's bamboo resources in terms of value and 28
percent in terms of area.
BAMBOO HANDICRAFT SITS PRETTY ON A SHELF. THE PLANT IS CALLED GREEN GOLD IN THE
COUNTRY FOR ITS MULTIPLE USES AND GREAT ECONOMIC POTENTIAL.
The government is in the final stages of finalising a $115-million project for
implementation over the next few years to promote bamboo cultivation and trade
through a National Mission on Bamboo Trade and Technology Development.
Agriculture scientists have so far identified around a dozen varieties of
high-value commercial bamboo for cultivation by farmers that could be used as
an alternative to wood for construction, furniture making and even weaving
cloth using bamboo fibres.
In fact, bamboo fibre clothes and saris are fast catching the fancy in some
parts of the country. Efforts are also on to promote cultivation of edible
bamboo varieties. Outside of northeast, efforts are also on to promote
awareness of bamboo shoots as a food delicacy.
To make bamboo cultivation more attractive for farmers, the agriculture
ministry has been pressing the government for declaring it a horticulture crop.
Once India makes it attractive for farmers to grow bamboo as a cash crop and
sets up the infrastructure to tap its commercial potential through value
addition, the country would be well placed to build upon its rich biodiversity
of 136 bamboo species.
"It is only in the last few years that bamboo sector has been witnessing
substantial growth in terms of awareness and uses, and bamboo's
wealth-generation potential," said T.P. Subramony, resident manager of
International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR).
Headquartered in Beijing, INBAR is an inter-governmental organisation with 30
member-countries, including India.
Bamboo has traditionally been used for paper manufacture, scaffolding,
construction material and handicrafts. Now there is more diversification such
as bamboo flooring and panelling, though only a few people are doing this work.
Bamboo is also used for making incense sticks, foot rulers and matchsticks.
The biggest growth is expected to come from use of bamboo as a replacement for
wood. Bamboo housing is slowly growing in concept. While earlier bamboo houses
were seen as a poor man's dwelling, now bamboo is being seen as a modern
material not just for construction.
"By 2015, the Indian bamboo industry is estimated to grow into a $5.7 billion
sector as against $574 million in 2000, a 10-fold increase provided all the
factors are favourable and all stakeholders from farmers to community and
policy makers support the efforts," said Subramony.
Indo-Asian News Service
