0:00

Bamboo farming is on the

0:02

rise in Uganda. The

0:04

strong and fast-growing crop is

0:07

seen by the East African

0:09

government as having real growth

0:11

possibility. Along

0:14

a 3km stretch of the river

0:16

Ruizi, Environment Protection officers

0:19

recently planted new bamboo

0:22

seedlings and cleared

0:24

room for last year's survivors to

0:26

grow. The

0:28

river Ruizi is the most

0:30

important river in western Uganda

0:33

that includes the major city

0:35

of Mumbarara. A

0:37

successful bamboo forest would protect

0:39

the river against sandminers, farmers

0:42

and others whose activities have

0:44

long threatened it. The

0:48

National Environment Management Authority estimates

0:51

that the Ruizi has lost 60% of

0:53

its water

0:55

collection area over many years.

0:58

In some areas, the river runs

1:00

as narrow as a stream. Once

1:05

bamboo is established, it is

1:08

almost like a net said

1:10

Jikonius Musingwire. He

1:12

is an environment officer who

1:15

was the project's technical advisor.

1:18

The roots trap everything, including

1:20

the surface runoff, and

1:23

stabilize the weaknesses of the banks.

1:27

In Uganda, bamboo can be

1:29

burned for fuel in rural

1:31

communities, taking pressure off shrinking

1:34

forests of eucalyptus and other

1:36

natural resources. It

1:38

is a strong plant that can

1:40

grow almost anywhere, and

1:43

businesses can turn it into ranging

1:46

from furniture to toothpicks. Some

1:50

of the bamboo species grown in

1:53

Uganda are imported from Asia,

1:56

but many grow wild. One

1:59

kind has shoots that are smoked

2:02

and then boiled to make a

2:04

popular traditional meal in eastern Uganda.

2:08

The Ugandan government has set a 10-year

2:11

policy that calls for planting 300,000

2:13

hectares of bamboo. Most

2:17

of it will be grown

2:20

on private land by 2029

2:22

as part of wider reforestation

2:24

efforts. That

2:26

is a high target. The

2:28

Uganda Bamboo Association, the largest

2:30

such group with 340 members,

2:34

has planted only 500

2:36

hectares. Even

2:38

with growing interest in bamboo

2:40

farming, officials will have to

2:42

push more farmers in rural

2:44

parts of Uganda to plant

2:46

large areas of land with

2:49

bamboo. A

2:51

single bamboo pole brings in a little

2:53

less than a dollar, so

2:56

farmers need to grow a lot to

2:58

earn enough. Bamboo

3:00

promoters are urging them to

3:02

see a bamboo plantation as

3:05

the same kind of money-making crop

3:07

as coffee or tea. Banks

3:10

are offering bamboo plantation capital

3:13

loans that promise ownership

3:15

of large forests of

3:17

bamboo. Bamboo

3:20

plants are normally ready for

3:22

harvesting in three to five

3:24

years. A well-maintained

3:26

plantation can be useful for at

3:28

least 50 years, said

3:31

Jacob Ogola, a

3:33

crop production expert working with

3:35

the large Kitarra farm. He

3:38

said bamboo is easy to manage

3:41

and usually does not need spraying

3:43

for pests. Still,

3:46

Uganda's bamboo plantations are not

3:48

growing fast enough to build

3:50

an industry around the plant.

3:54

Steve Toussime owns a

3:56

bamboo nursery. It

3:58

has sold fewer than 10,000

4:00

seedlings in the past two years.

4:04

But to see me said, bamboo is

4:06

going to be a game changer in

4:08

Africa. You can eat

4:10

bamboo, you can use it to build,

4:13

you can create an industry for bamboo,

4:15

you can feed it to your

4:17

animals, and it can take care

4:20

of your land. I'm Dan

4:22

Novak.