Restructured National Bamboo Mission: Beneficial For Maharashtra Farmers To Double Revenues - MD, Dr. TKS Reddy

New Delhi, April 16: The Restructured National Bamboo Mission, once implemented, would definitely help Maharashtra Bamboo Farmers in increasing their revenues and earning a decent living, expressed the Managing Director of Maharashtra Bamboo Development Board at the seminar held at Maharashtra Sadan, today.

A Seminar on the “Recent Developments In the Bamboo Sector and Road Ahead”, was jointly organized by National Bamboo Mission-Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Ministry, Maharashtra Bamboo Development Board and Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE). A one day seminar was organized at Maharashtra Sadan with three interactive sessions.

Speaking further on the present and future prospects of Bamboo farmers in Maharashtra, Dr. Reddy apprised that the Union Budget allocation for Bamboo is a total outlay of Rs 1,290 crore under the revised bamboo mission. The National Bamboo Mission is a wholly-sponsored central scheme. The money is to be paid over a three-year period. Bamboo is a premium and niche product, but once it grows, it will be a win-win product for farmers, industry and the common man, said Dr. Reddy.

Maharashtra cultivates Bamboo on 4 lakh 75 thousand hectares. Of which, 85 percent of cultivation is done in Vidarbha alone, informed Dr. Reddy. The board is making efforts to increase cultivation of bamboo that is a raw material for many items, providing good quality seeds, manure and a suitable market, which would be capable of bringing additional income to farmers and providing employment opportunities to youths to earn their livelihood, said Reddy. This outlay will help buoy up the value chain in the bamboo sector, he added.

Present in this seminar was Secretary, Dr. A.S.Patnaik from Union Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare Department, Former President of IGEF, Annasaheb M.K.Patil, Joint secretary and Director of NBM, Smt. Alka Bhargav, and MD, Dr. TKS Reddy from Maharashtra Bamboo Development Board. 25 Experts across the country were invited to deliberate on the issues surrounding Bamboo and effective solutions to maximize its cultivation and optimum revenues to Bamboo farmers. Around 150 representatives were present at the seminar.