Tomar to Inaugurate Bamboo Exhibition & National Workshop of Bamboo Sector Development on 09th & 10th March 2023

A large number of entrepreneurs and artisans will gather at the exhibition to enthrall visitors with the many roles that bamboo can play in achieving an eco-friendly lifestyle. The event is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Invest India, and the Kerala State Bamboo Mission.

Ministers of State for Agriculture, Shobha Karandlaje and Kailash Choudhary, Secretary (Agriculture & Farmers Welfare), Manoj Ahuja, and senior officers of the Government of India will also attend the National Workshop on Bamboo. The workshop aims to pave the way for the expansion of India's bamboo sector by identifying areas for improvement and exploring expert recommendations to transform the industry for long-term development and economic growth.

The Ministry of Agriculture is supporting the event as part of its ongoing efforts to create a bamboo economy that will benefit millions of people across the country, including farmers, traditional artisans, craft skilled youth, designers, entrepreneurs, and investors.

In recent years, the Ministry has organized a series of National Consultations and webinars to foster the cooperation of various stakeholders in this sector. This Ministry effort coincides with the historic amendment to the Indian Forest Act in 2017, which has significant implications for the management and commercial use of bamboo, an important forest product in India. Bamboo was considered a tree under the previous version of the Indian Forest Act, and its cultivation and harvesting were strictly regulated.

Bamboo was reclassified as a non-timber forest product (NTFP) in 2017, which means it is no longer subject to the same restrictions as other timber products. It allowed for the promotion of bamboo cultivation and commercial use by encouraging farmers, entrepreneurs, and local communities to grow bamboo and use it for a variety of purposes such as construction, handicrafts, and bamboo-based industries.

Following the amendment to the forest act, the National Bamboo Mission (NBM) was restructured in 2018 with the goal of broadening its scope and increasing its impact by implementing a holistic value chain development strategy. Despite the fact that the Covid -19 pandemic has slowed the pace of the programme, the State Bamboo Missions have been successful in raising awareness and creating a business environment over the past five years of implementation.

The National Bamboo Mission is now reviving the bamboo sector's development by bringing stakeholders together on a platform of conscience for a collaborative journey to success. The State Bamboo Missions, farmers, artisans, entrepreneurs, and bamboo business communities are all eager to demonstrate bamboo's potential as a model for eco-friendly development.

The two-day Bamboo Exhibition will showcase products from various states, including but not limited to lifestyle products, construction materials, furniture, innovative & industrial products, agarbattis, and so on. The exhibition is free and open to the general public. This would be a fantastic opportunity for the general public, particularly students, home décor and furniture merchants, architects, designers, and those looking for alternative materials to traditional construction and lifestyle products.