THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN BAMBOO INDUSTRY

DEVELOPMENTREYNALDO H. LEGASTE

Provincial Agricultural OfficerSouth Cotabato

HISTORY/ORIGIN

• One of the oldest building materials known to humanity

• Used in China for over 5000 years• China – known as Kingdom of Bamboo• Ancient China used bamboo for making

books, food, paper, etc

Morphology

• Vegetative architecture – perennial woody plants but its stems known as culms live only for 5-10 years and need to be replaced.

Status• Philippines has recorded a total of 62 species but there is no reliable inventory of

available erect bamboos nationwide • Phil has only about 52,000 ha of land planted with bamboos today with hardly

any replanting accdg to Phil Bamboo foundation (PBF)• With china running out of bamboo within five years, opening a huge opportunity

for Filipino farmers nationwide to tap the 8 billion US global dollars global market for bamboo products.

• During the last four years, the PBF have been rallying to put up a commercial bamboo forests or big bamboo plantations thru Rotary meetings.

• Full government support for financing and technical help was assured by Edgardo Manda, general manager of Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) if and when organized farmers’ groups and agro-industrial firms decide to invest in the commercial farm production of bamboos

• Export potential for bamboo-based products like handicrafts, furniture and furnishings in global markets remained as strong as ever in developed countries like US and Europe.

• Philippine bamboo handicrafts averaged about 368 M USD while bamboo furniture turns in about 2M USD in annual export earnings.

Economic Potential

• Food - Phil made snacks and candies made from bamboo shoots recently won the top prize in an international competition adjudged by world class panel that included Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler and other renowned personalities. (Bamsnacks candy and chips)

• Grated and boiled bamboo shoots as food sold as P30 per kg

• Furniture –

Economic Potential

Economic Potential

Economic Potential

Economic Potential

BAMBOO TILES

Economic Potential

ROLE OF AGRICULTURE

ProductionTechnology and processesNursery techniquesSelection and preparation of planting stockPotting

NURSERY TECHNIQUES

NURSERY TECHNIQUES

NURSERY TECHNIQUES

Plantation establishment

Site selectionSite preparationPlantingPlantation maintenance and production

PLANTING BAMBOOS

PLANTATION BAMBOOS

Marketing ConsiderationFinancial ConsiderationEcological BenefitsSocioeconomic benefits

Support servicesRelevant Rules and RegulationsManagement considerations