Ensure sustainable utilization of the country’s Bamboo and Rattan resources

Ghanaians have been urged to ensure a sustainable management and rehabilitation of the country’s bamboo and rattan resources to contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.

The Programme Officer of the Bamboo and Rattan Development Project (BARADEP) of the Ministry of Mines, Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR), Mr. Dickson Twum Yeboah gave the advice at a five day workshop at Nkawanda Number Two near Nkawkaw.

The workshop is on how to process bamboo and rattan into cups, furniture, curtains, doormats, key holders and flower pots, and was attended by 25 people including three females

Mr. Yeboah said this would generate employment, reduce poverty, ensure economic development and improve the biodiversity of the country.

He said bamboo and rattan constitute two large non-timber forest products in the country, which had been identified to be a sustainable complement to timber usage and could help reduce the pressure on the natural forest for timber products.

The Programme Officer said the objective of the workshop was to promote bamboo and rattan resources and industrial development as a complement to the wood industry to increase income and employment opportunities for the rural poor.

He advised the participants to take advantage of the workshop to process a large quantity of the bamboo and rattan resources in the area into various products for sale to enhance their income.

Mr. Yeboah said with the required machinery, bamboo could be processed into boards, veneer, plywood, floor tiles, furniture and beds for the building industry while it could also be processed into charcoal as fuel woods.

He said a number of people have been trained in the Eastern, Ashanti, Western, Brong Ahafo and the Central Regions for the cultivation and processing of bamboo and rattan into various products for sale.

The local Co-ordinator of the project, Mr. Richard Kofi Agyemang, thanked BARADEP for the training and gave the assurance that the knowledge acquired would be put into effective use to generate the needed income to enhance their living standards.

He appealed for the supply of the needed tools and other equipment to process the raw materials into the various finished products for sale.**