The untapped potential of bamboo sector

Bijendra Gogoi

(The writer can be reached at bijendragogoidme@gmail.com)

The Government of India in a significant move to harness the potential of bamboo sector in the Northeast has recently decided to set up the first Bamboo Industrial Park at Dima Hasao district in Assam. The proposed park, covering an area of 75 hectares, is an initiative aimed at providing a competitive edge to the bamboo growers and entrepreneurs of the region by promoting the bamboo-based industries.

The Global Industry Report valued the global bamboo market at USD 72.10 billion in 2019 which is expected to reach over USD 98.75 billion by 2026, growing annually at around 5.5% during the period from 2020 to 2026. Although India has 30% of the world's bamboo resources with the world's largest growing area of more than 15.69 million hectares, the country taps only one-tenth of its bamboo potential contributing to only 4% share of the global market for bamboo products.

However, India's share in the World Market can be increased manifold through the efforts taken by the major bamboo producing states of the country. Statistics reveal that the north-eastern region constitutes as much as more than 60% of the country's growing stock of bamboo and Assam is one of the major sources of naturally and home-grown bamboo in the entire region. As many as 51 species of bamboo grow in Assam and this sector if harnessed properly has the potential to generate ample employment and revenue.

In Assam, bamboo has been an integral part of our cultural, social and economic traditions. This renewable and versatile resource is an important component of the natural wealth of the State which grows abundantly in the forests and is cultivated in homesteads, groves and on private plantations. Many people in Assam still depend on it for their livelihood, and for household and functional uses.

Bamboo products are used for a wide range of purposes and extensively used in every household. Various products such as bamboo houses, bamboo baskets, bamboo mats, bamboo hats, umbrella handles, walking sticks, tool handles, fishing rods, tent poles, ladders, hand-fans, bamboo and leaf headgear, handicrafts like toys and dolls, musical instruments and various domestic and agricultural implements are crafted out of bamboo in Assam. Besides, edible shoots are also high in demand in the State.

Even though Assam has been traditionally rich in bamboo, bamboo craft from Assam do not figure prominently in the handicraft market of India and Assam's share in the export trade is negligible. There are vast untapped resources of bamboo that can open several avenues for utilization for many productive works apart from employment creation and livelihood generation. Keeping this in view, the Government of Assam on 28th November, 2019 launched the "The Assam Bamboo and Cane Policy, 2019". The policy comes into effect from 1st January, 2020 and will be valid for five years.

Broadly the policy aims at sustainable development and utilization of bamboo and cane resources in the State through scientific management and stakeholders' participation. The policy aims at protection and conservation of biodiversity, enhancement of resources and improvement of productivity, promotion of traditional and modern bamboo based industries, enhancing employment opportunity and livelihood security for the local people and development of effective marketing for bamboo and cane based products.

The policy focuses on providing better source of income generation through cultivation of bamboo & cane. For plant propagation, the policy proposes to set up hi-tech, big and small size nurseries both in public and private sectors including strengthening with government incentives and subsidies as per norms and funding pattern of National Bamboo Mission. The policy also envisages taking up high density bamboo plantation on government, panchayat and community land including waste lands besides block plantation or boundary plantation on farmer's field. Moreover, transfer of technology through training, frontline demonstration, publicity and training of the trainers are incorporated as an integral part of the Policy. Besides, skill development, training of farmers, field level workers and entrepreneurs will be taken up.

Needless to say that marketing is the most important factor for the success of any enterprise. Large enterprises have enough resources at their command to hire manpower to take care of marketing of their products and services. MSME sector does not have these resources at their command and marketing is one of the weakest areas where MSMEs face major problems. Therefore, under this Policy, the State Government shall take the initiatives for providing market linkage for the bamboo-based units. Further for marketing of bamboo products, the Government would encourage Government agencies to utilize bamboo for door frames, doors, window frames, windows, indoor and outdoor furniture, flooring, wall cladding and outdoor decking in all Government projects and also in private projects.

As part of the policy, the State Bamboo Development Agency has been constituted to promote and support the bamboo sector. Other departments including Environment & Forest, Agriculture, Panchayat & Rural Development, Soil Conservation, Water Resources etc, will also implement the schemes related to bamboo and cane sector with the participation of various stakeholders.

Since this sector is an emerging area with tremendous potential, new possibilities will continue to arise, for which the State Government should come up from time to time with detailed schemes & approaches in support of the framework defined in the State Policy. This industry has considerable scope for development as various new products suited to modern tastes can be manufactured out of bamboo and cane. With appropriate market intelligence, products can be made to cater to the need of the consumer market which will eventually boost the State's economy.