National Bamboo Mission

• The National Bamboo Mission (NBM) has recently been reorganized, and the Ministry of Agriculture has formed an Advisory Group to streamline the development of the bamboo sector.

About The National Bamboo Mission:

• The National Bamboo Mission (NBM), which has been reorganised, was introduced in 2018–19 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS).
• NBM primarily focuses on the development of the entire value chain of the bamboo industry to connect producers with consumers, starting with planting materials, plantations, the establishment of facilities for collection, aggregation, processing, marketing, micro, small & medium enterprises, skilled manpower, and brand-building initiatives in a cluster approach mode.
• Objective: To expand the area covered by bamboo plantations on public and private lands that are not covered in forests in order to supplement farm income and improve climate change resilience.
• establishing connections between farmers and markets to help farmer producers find a ready market for the bamboo they are growing and to boost the supply of suitable raw materials to the domestic industry.
• In addition, it works to improve the skills of traditional bamboo craftsmen in accordance with the demands of modern markets through partnerships with leading businesses and institutions.
• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare serves as the nodal ministry.

What Potential Does Bamboo Have?

Significance:

• A new phase of the bamboo industry is being ushered in by the opening of numerous resource utilization options.
• A diverse group of plants called bamboo can provide people with ecological, economic, and livelihood security.
• Recently, the Prime Minister opened the new Bengaluru (Kempagowda) Airport terminal, demonstrating the adaptability of bamboo as an architectural and structural material and defining its future as "green steel."
• The potential of bamboo is vast and extends beyond its use as a structural and design component in the building industry.
• Bamboo granules that can be moulded are environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic. Due to its rapid rate of growth and abundance, bamboo is a dependable source for the production of ethanol and bioenergy.
• The market for lifestyle items made of bamboos, such as cutlery, home decor, handicrafts, and cosmetics, is also expanding.

Indian Bamboo Production Status:

• With 136 species of bamboo, India has the most area covered in bamboo (13.96 million ha) and is the second-richest country in terms of bamboo diversity after China (125 indigenous and 11 exotic).

Programs to promote bamboo:

• Bamboo Groups: 22 bamboo clusters have been virtually inaugurated in the nine states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and Karnataka by the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare.
• Recent revisions to the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Minor Forest Produce have been made by the Central Government (MFP).
• MFP covers all plant-derived non-timber forest products, such as bamboo, canes, fodder, leaves, waxes, resins, and a variety of food items like nuts, wild fruits, lac, tusser, etc.
• Bamboo has been removed from the definition of "tree" in the Indian Forest Act of 1927, which was updated in 2017.
• As a result, no permission is required for felling or transit, so anyone can engage in the cultivation of bamboo and the sale of its products.
• FPOs (Farmer Producer Organizations): In five years, 10,000 new FPOs will be created.
• FPOs assist farmers in a variety of ways, such as teaching them better farming techniques, grouping together input purchases, providing transportation, connecting them to markets, and helping them realise better prices by cutting out middlemen.

Way Forward

• The National Bamboo Mission's goals must be carried out by the states so that they can support the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan through a "Aatmanirbhar Krishi" (self-reliant farming).
• India should aim to establish itself in international markets for both engineered and handcrafted goods by increasing exports even more given the abundance of bamboo and its quickly expanding industry.