NATIONAL MISSION ON BAMBOO TECHNOLOGY AND TRADE DEVELOPMENT

 Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on this planet. Bamboos are characterized by woody, mostly hollow culms with internodes and branches at the culms nodes. India is the second richest country in terms of Bamboo genetic diversity with a total of 136 species under 75 genera.  It encompasses about 8.96 million hectares of forest area, which is equivalent to 12.8 per cent of the total forest cover of the country.

The Planning Commission had prepared a report on National Mission on Bamboo Technology and Trade Development (NMBTTD), which was presented to the Hon’ble Prime Minister in July, 2003.

In India, the present usage of bamboo is to the tune of Rs 2043 crore. There is scope to increase the size of the industry by at least 2.2 times (i.e. Rs. 4463 crore as of today) to begin with. Over the next two years the projected rate of growth could be as high as 20 per cent per year.

The principal objectives of the National Bamboo Mission are to (i) use bamboo development as an instrument of poverty alleviation and employment generation, particularly in the rural sector; (ii) diversify, modernize and expand bamboo based industries through the application of modern technology and financial support; and (iii) use bamboo as a means to achieve ecological security through plantation of quality species needed by the industry and the handicrafts sector.

A major plank of the aforesaid strategy would be to bring an additional six million hectares under bamboo in the forest and non-forest areas through concerted efforts. However, considering the constraints of planting material availability; availability of funds, and the time taken in achieving the desired outcome, a target of two million hectares has been fixed for the remaining period of the Tenth Plan and a spill over period of a further three years.

The National Mission has been structured to address critical areas of bamboo development covering research, development, post-harvest management, product development and marketing by adopting a mission mode approach comprising of four Micro-missions, viz., (a) Micro-mission for Bamboo Research; (b) Micro-mission for Plantation Development; (c)  Micro-mission for Post Felling Management and Bamboo Trade; and (d) Micro-mission on Product Development, Processing and Value-addition of finished products.

The Mission will has appropriate mechanism at the National Level to provide policy directives and to oversee each of the programme. At the State Level, State Level Bamboo Steering Committees will be formed under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary to coordinate the programme.

The total yield of bamboo in terms of numbers from 2 million hectares will be 9198 million and in terms of value will be Rs. 19,702 crore. Therefore, up on investing Rs. 2600 crore in the development of the bamboo sector in the country over a period of five years, the total value of bamboo poles and shoots itself will generate a turnover of more than Rs. 50,000 million from 20015-16 onwards. Once planted, the bamboo clumps will go on producing culms and shoots for about 20 to 30 years. The other major benefits expected are in generation of employment through the large scale setting up of plantations and industries.