Chhattisgarh is facing difficulty in finding farmers who are ready to take up bamboo cultivation in the state under National Bamboo Mission.
The insufficient grant given to the farmers to cultivate bamboo was cited as one of the reasons for the reluctance. The National Bamboo Mission (NBM) is mooting a proposal to increase the grant given to the farmers, a senior officials with the mission said.
Under the programme, farmers are getting bamboo saplings free of cost from the forest department. The NBM is providing them a grant of Rs 10 per sapling. "Still, farmers in Chhattisgarh are least interested to take up bamboo cultivation," the official added.
The Naxal-infested Bastar region is the largest bamboo growing pocket in the state. But rebels had never restricted the farmers to take up bamboo cultivation. Other districts including Bilaspur, Raipur, Durg and Mahasamund also produce bamboo in Chhattisgarh.
In 2008, a target to plant 4,00,000 bamboo saplings was set in the state. The number was, however, doubled in 2009. The NBM had reduced the target to 4,00,000 this year. The officials explained that the target was fixed by the NBM and the reluctance of farmers to cultivate bamboo could be one of the reasons to curtail the target.
According to officials, farmers are free to sold bamboo after cultivation. Officials said that most of the farmers in Chhattisgarh grew paddy and hence they were not keen to take up other crops.