Bamboo flowering in Mizoram always brings the horrors of two decades old insurgency back into the collective memory of its people. Come 2004, the bamboo forests in the state will flower and there are already reports of sporadic bamboo flowering. The link is fascinating: bamboo flowering attracts rats that in turn destroy crops leading to famine. The Mizo National Front (MFN) started its insurgency movement in the 1950s during such a famine. Also, after flowering, bamboos die en mass. It is a huge economic loss for the state and the country since bamboo provides a multi-billion dollar business in India where about 10 million people solely depend on it for survival in rural areas.

If the next flowering is managed strategically it can lead to an economic boom not only for the state but also for the country. Besides the northeast, many other states will also see flowering of bamboo in the coming few years. If all the flowering bamboo forests were harvested now it would fetch billions of rupees.

The bambooed economy

The Planning Commission has established the National Mission on Bamboo Technology and Trade Development (NMBTTD). This is the first time that bamboo has been seen as an economic asset rather than a forest weed. The mission envisions using bamboo to eradicate poverty and to increase nutrition levels in the country.

The action plan of the NMBTTD, a comprehensive report of the Planning Commission released in April 2003, outlines the mission’s policy and objectives and charts out strategy to use bamboo as a major rural poverty eradication tool. The report has asked the government to accept bamboo as a strategic poverty alleviation resource and requested policy changes to de-regularize the trade, now under strict control of governments. Suggesting major changes in bamboo policy of the government, its action plan suggests that bamboo can be a major source of employment and can substantially enhance nutrition levels for local residents by encouraging consumption of bamboo shoots.

India is a small player in bamboo market, both domestic and international. The management of bamboo as a resource has been neglected and considered secondary to timber in forests, bamboos are under-utilized. “There is a huge gap between the present and potential yield,” says the report. India must get its own pie from the world bamboo market which is expected to grow from the present US $10 billion to over US $20 billion by 2015, for which it needs to expand its bamboo market steadily to the level of Rs 26,000 crore by the 2015, from the present Rs 2000 crores.

Grand Plan

The bamboo mission has three major objectives: 1. To use bamboo development as an instrument of poverty alleviation and employment generation particularly in rural sector, 2. To promote organized production and processing of bamboo shoots and its consumption as a part of the national efforts to eliminate micronutrient deficiency which is widespread among women and children. To use it to make the transition as envisioned in the 10th plan from overall self-sufficiency in food grains to meet human needs for energy and nutrition; 3. To use bamboo as a means to reclaim degraded land, conserve soil, improve environment, and carry out drought proofing.

To create the demand for bamboo, the report has asked the government for a change in the import policy of wood pulp and paper. It estimates that bamboo from domestic sources can substitute Rs 10,000 crore worth import of wood pulp. To discourage import, it has suggested imposition of 5 per cent duty on imported pulp. The paper industry currently operating at about 41 per cent of its capacity has been using only one million MT of bamboo due to non-availability mainly on account of poor management of natural bamboo forests and practically no investment in raising new plantation

This provides an opportunity for the northeast states, contributing 34 per cent of India’s total bamboo forests, to streamline their economy. According to an estimate of the Planning Commission, the seven northeastern states can benefit about Rs 5000 crore by just using the flowering forest in the coming three years. Given the role of economic underdevelopment in the numerous insurgency movements in this region, this is one channel for peace to return. Keeping in mind the fragile economy of the region, it is an economic opportunity. Mizoram is already preparing to use this opportunity for economic development. “For me it is a lesson from the past and I want to use the calamity as an opportunity for economic benefits and to strengthen peace,” says Zoramthanga, the chief minister of the state. Are the other states taking note of it?