Ghana has been invited to participate in an international workshop on bamboo handicraft techniques in China from October 8 to 21.
Participants would take part in the China Bamboo Cultural Festival and would visit manufacturers of bamboo flooring, veneers and other small industrial products. They would also interact with handicraft manufacturers such as furniture, baskets, hats and other appliances.
Mr Sam K. Akrofi, Public Relations Manager of the Forestry Commission (FC), who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency, said the invitation was a follow-up to the recent visit of Bamboo Experts from China.
Bamboo is an evergreen grass that grows in sub-tropical and tropical zones and is considered to be an ideal substitute for wood.
This is because as an important non-timber forest resource it is widely distributed, grows fast and has high regenerating rate and utilisation with economic values.
Mr Akrofi said the workshop was important to Ghana because China's bamboo industry has been developing very fast and "now its bamboo processing techniques are among the most advanced in the world."
He said in Ghana, bamboo has not been formally recognised and that plantations would soon be developed to support the Forestry Commission in the promotion of non-timber species. "So far it grows only in the wild, but Ghana has to take advantage of this industry to support its dwindling timber industry," he said.
Mr Akrofi said when the participants return from China, they would hold a fair to exhibit products that could be made from bamboo.
He said to meet the challenge set by the Chinese Experts, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) called the Bamboo and Rattan Network of Ghana (BARNET) has been formed to team up with the Forestry Commission to promote the usage of bamboo and rattan as a substitute for timber.
He said the Experts took along various species of bamboo to find out those that could be promoted for use in Ghana.
Mr Akrofi said it has a gestation period of about five years after which it regenerates itself and could be harvested every subsequent year.
He said FC is collaborating with the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana to conduct research into exotic species to find out how it would be cultivated for export.
Mr Akrofi urged Ghanaians to protect and use bamboo and rattan wisely for the socio-economic development of the country.
