Farmers Reap Long-Term Benefits From Bamboo Crop

A workshop for farmers was held in the Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh to encourage bamboo planting under the One District - One Product scheme. The main objective of ODOP is to select, brand & promote one product from each district of the country that has a specific characteristic feature or is native to that particular district.

Principal secretary (forest) Ashok Varnwal, principal chief conservator of forest Ramesh Kumar Gupta, district collector Chandramouli Shukla, DFO PN Mishra, district panchayat CEO Prakash Singh Chouhan, additional principal chief conservator of forests Kamalita Mohanta, additional principal chief conservator of forest Uttam Kumar Subuddhi, additional collector Mahendra Singh Kavache and other officers and farmers of the district were present for the workshop. 

During the workshop, principal secretary Varnwal stated that there is concern about damage to other crops during a natural disaster, however, the bamboo crop does not perish in any season. Bamboo farming can be done at a lesser cost. 

How to plant bamboo crop

Plant bamboo at a spacing of three meters apart so that you can grow other crops in addition to bamboo. The farmers gain from the bamboo production for an extended length of time. He claims that bamboo may be utilized as low-cost fencing in fields and other areas instead of cement poles.

Farmers may grow 625 seedlings per acre and purchase bamboo plants from government nurseries, said Varnwal. 

Collector Shukla stated at the workshop that farmers in the Dewas district are being encouraged to plant bamboo on the bunds of their fields, which will allow them to harvest bamboo at a low cost alongside other crops. Bamboo requires minimal maintenance and has no negative effects on the environment. 

According to Collector Shukla, around 3800 such farmers in the Dewas district have been identified. Farmers whose agricultural land is in the Dewas district but who live in neighboring districts have been motivated to involve in bamboo cultivation, which is less expensive and requires less maintenance. 

Farmers were taught at the workshop that the first harvest of the bamboo crop will take place in 4 - 5 years. Bamboo may grow to be 40-60 feet tall. In one acre, a yield of 60 to 75 tonnes is achievable. Bamboo is now being purchased for Rs 255 per quintal. With one acre of bamboo farming, a revenue of up to Rs 1.25 lakh is achievable in the beginning. Every four years, the cost of purchasing bamboo rises by 3%.