New Delhi, Dec 6 (KNN) With the aim to streamline the developments in the Bamboo sector, the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday approved the format

As per the official statement, the Advisory group will encompass the representation of various stakeholders’ viz., academicians, researchers, innovators, progressive entrepreneurs, designers, farmer leaders, marketing specialists and policy makers.

The Union Agriculture Secretary will be the Chairperson and Mission Director of National Bamboo Mission will be the Convener of the Committee. The members of the committee shall advise the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare on issues and technologies in propagation, plantation of bamboo & intercropping, primary processing, product development, value addition, market infrastructure and linkages, processing machineries, skill development etc.

The inter-ministerial and public- private consultation is envisaged to dovetail the bamboo initiatives of the Ministries/ Departments and to help revamp the developmental architecture of the sector by incorporating synergy between all the sections related to the bamboo value chain. 

The restructured National Bamboo Mission (NBM) was launched during 2018-19 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. NBM mainly focuses on the development of complete value chain of Bamboo sector to link growers with consumers starting from planting material, plantation, creation of facilities for collection, aggregation, processing, marketing, micro, small & medium enterprises, skilled manpower and brand building initiative in a cluster approach mode.

Over the years of the interventions through policy, facilitations and awareness creations, the bamboo industry is witnessing a phase change by the opening of multiple avenues of the resource utilization.

Recently, the Prime Minister inaugurated the new terminal of the Bengaluru (Kempagowda) Airport in which the versatility of bamboo as an architectural and structural material has been proved and the destiny of this green resource defined as the ‘green steel’.  (KNN Bureau)