By Peter Marimi
Zimbabwe is ambitiously gunning for upper middle income status as espoused by its Vision 2030. It is hoped that the planned journey will be achieved on the vehicles of 5-year National Development Strategies (NDS) 1 and 2 which also talk to most of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Taking off on NDS1 (2021-2025) 7 objectives have been put in place to guide the journey.
Objective number 3 of NDS1 is about promoting new enterprise development, employment and job creation. In order to achieve this objective government can work from different fronts old and new. One of the new fronts can be bamboo. Bamboo is now a more than US$60 billion industry worldwide. Why should Zimbabwe not enjoy a fair share of this lucrative industry and make millions of dollars out of this wonderful plant also referred to as the Green Gold by those who are already immensely benefiting from it?
Bamboo offers vast opportunities in new enterprise development, employment and job creation. To kick start the process what is needed is widespread bamboo awareness as very few Zimbabweans are aware of its potential. This can be followed by training on how to commercially grow bamboo and massive small and large scale production in all the country’s provinces as it can grow almost anywhere. Once there is a constant supply of bamboo raw material small and large industries can be set up in urban, rural and farm areas. It can also be grown on mine dumps and those areas damaged by illegal miners. The bamboo value chain can be added to the five value chains mentioned in NDS1.
Beneficiation of bamboo to exploit its over 1000 uses should enable the production of numerous items, creating employment opportunities that will also benefit disadvantaged women and youth. Our strong relationships with countries such as China and India where bamboo is a big industry will enable us to have skills transfer that can see Zimbabweans being trained in how to grow and process bamboo. We can also get machinery from these countries and eventually learn to make our own. The gold we get from the belly of Mother Earth is not sustainable as it will one day be finished. The bamboo industry is sustainable as it is self-propagating without much care. From a single plant one can go on harvesting for 100 to 200 years. Bamboo can therefore continuously lift individuals and communities from poverty and help them move to middle income status. Products made from bamboo can be exported to other countries and bring in the much needed foreign currency into the country.
The NDS1 Objective 5 is to; ensure sustainable environmental protection and resilience. Introducing the topic of Environmental Protection, Climate Resilience and Natural Resources Management , NDS1 states that environmental protection, climate resilience and natural resources management are the key enablers for the attainment of Vision 2030 and the SDGs especially 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 that speak to ‘’environmental protection and target sustainable production and consumption, sustainable use of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, reversing land degradation and addressing bio-diversity loss’’.
In terms of climate change resilience and environmental protection bamboo produces 35% more oxygen than trees and takes in more carbon dioxide thereby helping to clean the atmosphere and slow down climate change. Bamboo is good at reversing land degradation due to its root system that holds soil together. Its thick canopy prevents the washing away of fertile soil by the rains. Growing much faster than trees at more than 90 cm in 24 hours and maturing in 3 to 4 years, bamboo can come in handy when addressing deforestation with Zimbabweans burning more than 300 000 hectares of forests every year through veld fires. Farmers can use bamboo to cure their tobacco instead of continuing to cut down trees that take 10 to 20 years to mature. Bamboo can therefore help Zimbabwe to ensure sustainable environmental protection and resilience as it journeys towards Vision 2030. Let’s do it the bamboo way.
