The Bamboo and Rattan Sectors in Asia: an Analysis of ... - INBAR

Technical Issues
While the SE program did not focus specifically on technical issues, it is clear
that there are many technical improvements that could be useful to raw material
producers (collectors and growers) and users if the market conditions are such that
investments will be rewarded.
The bamboo and rattan sectors have been given very little attention by
governments. While some research has been done on these resources, the results
have, for the most part, not been downstreamed to potential users in the field.
Agricultural and forestry extension work is notoriously weak in most of the countries
studied, and both bamboo and rattan have tended to fall in the gap between the
disciplines anyway. The major exception is China, where research on bamboo paid of
in large productivity increases as soon as the policy and economic conditions were
ripe.
There appears to be plenty of scope for small-scale cultivation/enrichment
planting of rattan and bamboo, with potential to benefit a different set of clients (i.e.
poor landless forest-dependent groups). Research is needed to generate appropriate
technologies suitable for small-scale growers and processors; they need access to
planting material and cultivation technology, along with improved institutional
environments. A more multi-disciplinary approach is needed to address strategic
issues in these important sectors.
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