The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Benito Owusu-Bio, has urged bamboo industry operators to look into ways to make their venture not only environmentally friendly, but also to create a massive agro-economy that contributes significantly to the country’s growth.
Hon. Benito Owusu-Bio, speaking on the first day of the Africa Regional Symposium on Bamboo and Rattan, emphasized the importance of the industry adopting the government’s afforestation initiative into their best practices.
Whiles commending the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization for the project, he added that the government is committed to the growth of the industry and provide healthy competition to the timber industry. As a result, the Deputy Minister charged them with using the symposium as a platform to generate innovative ideas to expand the industry and increase gains in the field.
“At this symposium, I believe we have the opportunity to examine the current state of the bamboo and rattan sector value chains, to identify constraints and to make strategic recommendations that would help improve the value chains and transform the bamboo and rattan sectors based on high-quality standards and global market demands”, he said.
“Government of Ghana remains committed to promoting the development of the bamboo and rattan industry as a compliment to the timber industry in order to reduce pressure on the natural forest for timber.
“More significantly, Ghana launched the Bamboo and Rattan Development Strategic Plan in 2020 to serve as a road-map to guide the sustainable development of the bamboo and rattan sector at least for the next five years, he added.
Hon. Benito Owusu-Bio noted that with the Green Ghana initiative, government has provided the roadmap for a successful agroforestry drive which ought to be adopted by operators in the bamboo and rattan industry. He bemoaned that one of the reasons the industry has lagged is due to industry players’ failure to replace the trees they fell.
“Before I conclude my address, let me state that unlike bamboo, rattan continues to receive minimal attention in our efforts to promote the sector and I believe it is so for other countries.
In Ghana, rattan resources are almost exhausted due to heavy reliance on the natural stands without any replanting agenda. I wish to urge you to explore the possibilities of promoting the growth of rattan in the same vein as we do for bamboo.
“This symposium presents a valuable platform for learning, sharing of best-practices, experiences and knowledge on bamboo and rattan and I am confident that by the end of the two days deliberation, you would have developed a roadmap for stimulating investments in the bamboo and rattan sector,” he said.
Source: Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources
