World Bamboo Day: Green Gold revolution in the making in Vidarbha

Nagpur: The Maharashtra government freed bamboo grown on private land in Vidarbha and Marathwada from transit pass (TP) in 2017, but there weren’t any takers for bamboo, also called the ‘Green Gold’ for a couple of years. In the last three years, however, over 5,800 beneficiaries across the state have grown bamboo on over 6,500 hectares and a revolution of sorts is in the offing with many more in Vidarbha going for bamboo cultivation apart from the conventional crops.
Maharashtra Bamboo Development Board (MBDB) managing director M Srinivasa Rao says, “The board is providing seedlings and technical help to farmers through circle-level coordinators. Aurangabad has taken a lead with plantations in 600 hectares. In 2019-20, under the National Bamboo Mission (NBM), there were over 4,800 beneficiaries and under Atal Samruddhi Yojana over 1,000 benefited.”
Many progressive farmers in Vidarbha are now coming forward to grow bamboo. There are shining examples like Ramesh Dumbhre, Umred, and youngsters like Gaurav Charde, Sanket Charde and Shriya Sutaone, Wardha. The youngsters quit their corporate jobs not only to contribute to nature but also help marginal farmers grow bamboo on their underutilized land.
Charde and others have discovered new possibilities and recognized space for sustainable development in bamboo plantation after being guided by experts like Anand Fiske and Anand Kamde. The trio formed Wena Farmers Producer Company, which plays an important role in post-harvesting techniques, from nursery to bamboo cultivation, harvesting, industry and marketing. Started in June 2020, Wena works mostly in Wardha and Hinganghat.
According to Charde, they have educated more than 100 farmers to cultivate bamboo on their vacant field. “Our main focus is on manufacturing essence sticks, bio-diesel and bamboo activated carbon. We have grown bamboo on 55 acres and plan to expand it to 400 acres. We will procure bamboo from these farmers for our unit,” says Charde.
Dumbhre used to take conventional crops like chana, wheat and cotton, but since his farm is close to the river, the yield used to get damaged or washed away. “This forced me to think out of the box and after a lot of studies in 2018 I took a risk of planting bamboo on 17 acres and nilgiri on 3 acres,” says Dumbhre.
He says it costs Rs70,000 to grow bamboo per acre “but it is a one-time investment”. “The species which I have grown will continue to give yield till 60-70 years. I will sell the produce to incense stick makers, paper and sawmills,” says Dumbhre and adds he also plans to start a unit. “I’m very optimistic about the bamboo sector and appeal farmers to go for it in a big way,” he says.
Even Dr Vijay Ilorkar, senior scientist and head, Agro-Forestry Research Department, PDKV, who guided many farmers, admits that withdrawing TP was a turning point. “Vidarbha is heading for a bamboo revolution now. The conventional bamboo in forest grows up to 2 tonnes per hectare but in our research on 25-30 species, there is a yield between 12-50 tonnes per hectare. Bamboo has demand for fruit orchards, paper mills, fuel, furniture, handicrafts et al,” he says.
“As a sustainable investment, a planned scientific and holistic approach to the cultivation and management of bamboo can be an inexhaustible source of goods and services, creating employment opportunities for farmers and workers in small and medium-scale enterprises. This can help to alleviate poverty and rejuvenation of rural economies and overall economic development of country,” says Neelam Chhiber, founder, Industree Foundation working in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.
BRIGHT FUTURE
* Bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plant in the world
* Bamboo absorbs carbon dioxide and can generate up to 35% more oxygen than trees
* It does not require chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers or water to grow
* Bamboo improves soil quality
* Known as the Chinese symbol for strength, bamboo represents growth and resilience
* Government of India has created NBM to increase bamboo plantation and promote product development to suit market demand
* India contributes only 2% of world’s bamboo supply. China, Vietnam, Thailand have the most percent of bamboo export
* India has recently declared bamboo as ‘grass’ from ‘timber’. This means it can be grown for harvesting purposes
* Bamboo matures for harvesting within 4-5 years after plantation as compared to softwood or hardwood which takes 30-80 years
* Promoting bamboo plantation can help export products across the world and help overall economy of country