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Bamboo an effective enterprise for raising farmers’ income

Bamboo cultivation can enhance farm income to a good extent and achieve the desired objective of the Union Government of transforming the rural economy by doubling farmers’ income.

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Ambika Sharma

Bamboo cultivation can enhance farm income to a good extent and achieve the desired objective of the Union Government of transforming the rural economy by doubling farmers’ income.

It offers multiple goods and services and owing to its use in furniture making, construction, scaffolding, fuel, fodder, food industry, agricultural implements, baskets etc., its market has always seen a steady demand.  In a bid to harness the vast potential of bamboo, scientists of Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, are promoting its cultivation. The scientists of the Department of Silviculture and Agroforestry of the university have made extensive efforts to know the suitability of key commercial bamboo species, which can be grown in varied agro-climatic conditions of Himachal Pradesh, and raise awareness about the benefits of growing the crop. The banks of streams and hillock depressions in the state are highly suitable for large scale bamboo plantation.

In the last 20 years, the university scientists have worked on standardising the technique of multiplication of bamboo species and testing its important species across different agro-climatic conditions of Himachal on various performance parameters.    

“Bamboo has been intimately associated with mankind because of its vital role in social, cultural and economic uplift as well as environmental protection and amelioration,” says DR Bhardwaj, a scientist in Department of Silviculture and Agroforestry.

He says that China has emerged as the leader in the field, as it has taken big strides in the identification of bamboo as raw material for pulp, paper and rayon, parquet flooring, ply making, composites, charcoal, its shoots for food, chopsticks, toothpicks and handicraft.

“India possesses one of the largest bamboo resources in the world covering an area of 10.03 million hectares i.e. 12.8 per cent of the total forest area in the country. There are about 136 species in the country and with regard to bamboo resources and diversity India is second only to China. The latter is the leader having an annual growth rate of 30 per cent in the bamboo sector,” says JN Sharma, Director Research of the university. 

In 1999, the National Mission on Bamboo Application was set up by the Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), followed by the National Bamboo Mission in 2006. The basic aim of the missions was to enhance the resource base of bamboo and find the application of bamboo suiting Indian conditions. In 2018, a restructured National Bamboo Mission (NBM) was launched with the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA). This mission aims to enhance the area under bamboo plantation in non-forest government and private land to supplement farm income and contribute towards resilience to climate change as well as the availability of quality raw material to industries. Bamboo plantation will be promoted predominantly in farmers’ fields, homesteads, community land, arable wasteland, and along irrigation canals, and water bodies to rejuvenate the under-developed bamboo industry in India.

 “The Union Government amended the Indian Forest Act 1927 in 2017. This gave a big boost to the bamboo trade in the country, as it was categorised as a grass and not as a tree. After the amendment, farmers and communities can legally harvest bamboo and engage in its trade. This was not possible before the amendment, as permission from the Forest Department was mandatory for cutting bamboos,” says Parvinder Kaushal, Vice-Chancellor of the university. 

Kaushal adds the university has made efforts to promote bamboo in Himachal and has established a collection of 25 species from the bambusetum on the campus. 

Now, trade in bamboo 

"The Union Government amended the Indian Forest Act 1927 in 2017. This gave a big boost to the bamboo trade in the country, as it was  categorised as a grass and not as a tree. After the amendment, farmers and communities can legally harvest bamboo and engage in its trade." — Parvinder Kaushal, Vice-Chancellor of YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni

Not susceptible to pests

"Bamboo can do without much irrigation and is not susceptible to pests. It requires minimum labour and is unaffected by extreme climatic conditions. Due to its multifarious uses, it has a readily available market, which farmers can exploit." — Kulwant Rai, Dean College of Forestry

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