40 People to benefit from bamboo programme
The government is sponsoring 40 Ghanaians to China to undergo intensive training in bamboo production.
The first 20 cultivators are expected to travel on April 25 this year and return in June 23, 2016, while the rest who are mainly artisans would embark on their quest in July the same year, also to undergo training in handicraft and bamboo processing.
The project, which is in two phases is under the Bamboo and Rattan Development Programme (BARADEP) and is expected to boost bamboo production, and also restore lands affected by illegal mining in the country.
Speaking to the GRAPHIC BUSINESS in Accra, a Policy Co-ordinator of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources who have oversight responsibility of the programme, Mr Joseph Osiakwan, said the initiative was meant to develop the bamboo industry in Ghana.
According to him, the cultivators would undergo three-month training in modern methods on bamboo cultivation.
“While the second phase which included artisan would also undergo apprenticeship on new modern machines in China, some of which the government intended to install at the new centre, located at Ayi Mensah in the Greater Accra Region,” he added.
According to him, although bamboo could be easily grown and harvested in the perimeter of forest areas or under agroforestry schemes, it was important for Ghanaians to learn modern method of plantation.
He said the government was committed to promoting the trade and development of bamboo and rattan products in Ghana due to the enormous economic advantage to be gained from the sector.
He added that Ghana was highly regarded in the use of bamboo and rattan in the West Africa because of the ability of those raw material to reduce pressure on the forest.
Bamboo usage
Bamboo is a plant that provides considerable environmental benefits and it is used in construction works, furniture making and charcoal burning.
It is also used for ecological purposes such as soil stabilisation and erosion prevention on hill slopes, verges and also restore degraded land quickly.
Bamboo shoots are used for food, watershed protection and carbon sequestration the process of removing carbon from the atmosphere and depositing it in a reservoir among others.
According to industry players, bamboo silviculture was an option for conserving and protecting tropical forests, while creating enduring supplies for the wood and cellulose industries.
It is a fast growing natural resource whose rate of biomass generation is unsurpassed in the plant kingdom. It is without doubt one of the most important non-wood forestry products and one of the most important agricultural plants in the world.
BARADEP
In 2002, the government approved the adoption of Bamboo and Rattan Development as a national programme (BARADEP) to complement the President’s initiative on Forest Plantation Development in Ghana.
Subsequently, the BARADEP secretariat was established under the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines to coordinate the activities under the programme.
Bamboo and rattan resources, which together constitute the two largest non-timber forests products in Ghana, have been identified to be a suitable complement to timber usages such as building and construction, pulpwood, flooring, panel products and furniture.
Bamboo has a short gestation period of five years and besides, it has a unique material with a range of socio-economic and environmental benefits.
Mr Osiakwan said the overall goal of the programme was to contribute to poverty alleviation, economic development and to ensure sustainable management of the country’s forest resources and the improvement of the environment.
“The specific objectives of BARADEP are to promote bamboo and rattan plantation and industry development as a complement to the wood industry so as to reduce the pressure on the natural forest for timber and increase income and employment opportunities for the rural poor,” he said.