Along the Rwizi River, Uganda — Along the muddy riverside bushes, workers dig and cut bamboos buried under thick grass. Although there were some large sprouts here and there, most of the bamboo seedlings planted over a year ago did not grow.
Conservation workers, who are currently aiming to restore 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of the river's degraded banks, are planting new bamboo saplings to make room for last year's survivors to grow and be better cared for than they started with. The aim was to plant .
If successful, the bamboo forest along the Rwizi River, the most important in much of western Uganda, including the main city of Mbarara, would create a buffer zone for sand miners, subsistence farmers and other activities that have long threatened the river. Dew. The National Environmental Management Agency estimates that the Ruwizi River has lost 60% of its catchment area over the decades, and in some areas this winding river has become narrower, like a stream.
“Once bamboo takes root, it's like a net. The roots trap everything, including surface runoff, and stabilize weak points in the embankment,” said Environment Officer Jeconius Musingwire, who served as technical advisor on the project. he said.
This East African country is experiencing growing interest in bamboo, a perennial herb grown in many parts of the world. It can be burned as fuel in rural communities, relieving pressure on dwindling forest reserves of eucalyptus and other natural resources. It is a hardy plant that will grow anywhere. And companies can turn it into a variety of products, from furniture to toothpicks.
Although some of the bamboo grown in Uganda is imported from Asia, much bamboo grows naturally, including the shoots that are smoked and boiled to make traditional dishes popular in eastern Uganda.
The Ugandan government has set out a 10-year policy that calls for planting 300,000 hectares (about 1,100 square miles) of bamboo, mostly on private land, by 2029 as part of a broader reforestation effort.
That's an ambitious goal. The Uganda Bamboo Association is the largest organization of its kind with 340 members, but it has planted only 500 hectares. Despite the growing interest in bamboo cultivation, authorities will need to encourage more farmers in rural Uganda to plant large tracts of land.
However, there are bright spots.
Not far from the site where workers were tending bamboo is a large commercial farm containing seven acres of bamboo. The plants at Kitara Farm were well maintained and 10,000 bamboo poles were stockpiled waiting to be sold.
Manager Joseph Katumba said the site has become something of a demonstration farm for people who want to learn more about bamboo. He recalled that when he first started planting bamboo in 2017, some people asked him why he was “wasting land” by planting bamboo that grows naturally in the bushes.
Katumba said things have changed and skeptics are now interested in planting bamboo “because they have studied it and they like it”. Unlike eucalyptus, a tall flowering plant widely planted here for timber, there are no seasons for bamboo. You can earn.”
Bamboo grows faster than eucalyptus and regenerates like a weed. It can grow even in poor soil. Kitara Farm has stopped planting new eucalyptus trees while the area of bamboo continues to expand, he said.
“We have a lot of eucalyptus forests. But we realized that once you cut down a eucalyptus tree, it will eventually finish and once it's finished, there's no more money,” he said. Ta. “But when it comes to bamboo, our research has shown that if you plant bamboo, your grandchildren, their grandchildren, and their grandchildren will be able to earn income from bamboo.”
Each bamboo pole earns less than $1, so farmers need to grow a lot of it to earn a good income. Bamboo advocates urge bamboo farms to be viewed as a cash crop in the same category as coffee and tea plantations. Banks offer bamboo “plantation capital” to customers, offering loans that promise ownership of significant acres of bamboo.
“Everyone should actually plant bamboo, and a lot of it,” said Taga Nwagaba, a bamboo farmer and businessman who runs a bamboo furniture factory near Uganda's capital, Kampala. He also touts the plant as a renewable resource that sequesters carbon.
“If you cut one, five will grow,” he said.
Jacob Ogola, an agronomist who works as a consultant for Kitara Farms, said bamboo is usually ready for harvest after three to five years, but a well-maintained farm can last at least 50 years. He said bamboo is easy to maintain and doesn't usually require pest control sprays.
Bamboo seedlings are now more widely available through private nurseries.
Steve Tushime, who calls himself a bamboo collector, owns one such nursery in Mbarara. Tushime said he has been fascinated by the plant ever since he saw it as a boy. Before he started growing, he went to a farm in central Uganda to “hug” bamboo trees, and in 2018, at his own expense, he attended a bamboo competition in China, where he got his first bamboo seeds. I remembered that.
Standing on another piece of land along the Ruwizi River where he and his partners are creating a bamboo park at a recreational resort still under construction, he waxes lyrical about how bamboo “energizes” him. I spoke.
“Each bamboo you see here has a story. It has a different origin, different uses, and different names,” he said. “When you come here, the story turns to bamboo. You learn about the different species, the different uses. You see the different characteristics of bamboo.”
Still, Uganda's bamboo plantations are not growing fast enough to build an industry around them. Tusiime's nursery has sold less than 10,000 of his seedlings in the past two years, confounding his own assessment of bamboo as an important cash crop that also benefits the environment.
“Bamboo could be the tree of the future for Uganda and even Africa. For example, you have heard people talking about things like charcoal and firewood. Bamboo is a better solution. ” he said. “You can produce charcoal briquettes, which can be used directly as firewood. Bamboo will be a game changer for Africa. Bamboo can be eaten, you can build with bamboo, and we will create a bamboo industry. We can feed animals, and bamboo can take care of the land.”
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