Bhubaneswar: A Bamboo Resource Centre will be set up in Bhubaneswar to take up research, advocacy and project implementation initiatives in the bamboo sector in Odisha. The proposed centre will be set on a unique Industry-Academia and Government partnership.
A one-day state-level workshop organised by Sparsh Foundation of JK Paper in collaboration with NABARD held on Wednesday decided to set up OBRC as a collaborative platform to take up research, advocacy and project implementation initiatives in the bamboo sector of Odisha.
NABARD Chief General Manager A Chandrasekhar appreciated the effort of the organisers and announced to work with farmers producing companies, banks and State Government agencies to ensure collateral-free loans to farmers to cultivate bamboo in non-forest areas and make bamboo cultivation commercially viable.
The first ever such state-level workshop on bamboo resources discussed the socio-economic, cultural and environmental potential of the bamboo with a focus on its journey from the Tree to Grass.
Bamboo scientists from OUAT and Growmore highlighted the climate benefits that bamboo cultivation brings to climate change resilience and proposed to hold several such awareness workshops and related capacity development and training programmes at the district levels in Odisha.
“OBRC will be a global platform which would learn from global best practices and adopt and customise to Odisha’s local requirements,” JK Paper general manager Prafulla Dhal.
The deliberations in five intensive sessions focused on understanding the utility of the bamboo in human lives, dissected the opportunities for livelihood promotion and developing a bamboo startup culture and suggested strategies on how best to increase corporate funding into the sector.
Several notable bamboo experts from across the country, State Handicraft and Cottage Industries Director Basanta Kumar Dash Director, NIFT Bhubaneswar Director Prof Binay Jena, NABARD Odisha DGM PK Mohapatra also spoke.
Representatives of industry bodies like World Trade Centre Bhubaneswar and experts from corporate houses like JKPM, Dalmia, Tata Trust participated in the deliberations and stakeholder consultations.