2023-03-10According to data from the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization, the global trade volume of the bamboo industry increased sixfold between 1990 and 2011. In 2009, global bamboo exports amounted to approximately USD1.6 billion, with bamboo handicrafts, bamboo furniture, and bamboo boards constituting 33%, 25%, and 23%, respectively. Ethiopia, representing 5% of the total global bamboo forest area, holds significant potential for the development of its bamboo industry.
I. Basic Overview of Ethiopia's Bamboo Industry
(I) Area and production.
The total bamboo forest area in Ethiopia is approximately 1 million hectares, constituting one-third of the bamboo forest area in Sub-Saharan Africa and 5% of the global bamboo forest area (approximately 22 million hectares). The predominant species include the Highland Yushania P. C. Keng and the Ethiopian Oxytenanthera felix. The former covers 15% of the total bamboo forest area, distributed in regions with altitudes ranging from 2,290 to 4,000 meters, such as Oromia, Southern Nations, and Amhara. The latter constitutes 85% of the bamboo forest area, referred to locally as lowland bamboo, distributed in regions with altitudes between 1,000 and 1,800 meters, including Benishangul-Gumuz, Oromia, and Amhara. Additionally, plants such as Reed Grass and Thatching Grass, resembling bamboo, are used in bamboo weaving.
In 2007, Ethiopia introduced 10 bamboo species through the East African Bamboo Project from Kenya, but these species are yet to enter the production stage.
(II) Main applications.
Ethiopian bamboo products find applications in following sectors:
1. Construction and decoration: such as external walls, roofs, ceilings, internal walls, and fences of buildings;
2. Various furniture items: such as bamboo cabinets, bamboo cupboards, bamboo stools, bamboo baskets, bamboo chairs, bamboo sofas, bamboo cushions, bamboo tea tables, and bamboo lanterns;
3. Various woven items: such as grass pots, grass covers, grass trays, and grass baskets;
4. Various industrial products: such as bamboo flooring, bamboo sticks, and bamboo charcoal;
5. Other uses: like bamboo fences for protecting young trees and bamboo trash bins.
II. Utilization of Bamboo Resources in Ethiopia
(I) Traditional processing workshops
Traditional processing workshops are widespread across bamboo regions in Ethiopia, particularly concentrated in the capital, Addis Ababa. Presently, Addis Ababa hosts 16 traditional workshops with approximately 50 workers, including about 5 women (constituting around 10%). These workers attended bamboo processing training courses held in Ethiopia in 2005 and 2006. The processing direction encompasses various applications, such as building construction, exterior and roof decoration, small bridges, scaffolding, and various furniture items like bamboo chairs, bamboo sofas, bamboo tea tables, bamboo stools, bamboo cabinets, and bamboo cupboards, as well as everyday items like bamboo baskets, bamboo lanterns, and bamboo splints.
The sales market generally confines itself to Addis Ababa city.
(II) Industrialized production.
Presently, Ethiopia hosts two modern bamboo processing factories: One is Bamboo Star Agroforestry Factory (Formerly Land and See Plc) located in Asosa, the capital of Benishangul-Gumuz Region; Another is Adal Industrial Plc located approximately 20 kilometers from the capital, between Addis Ababa and Debre Zeyit in Oromia. These two factories employ around 150 people in total, with each having over 70 employees. Both primarily focus on bamboo flooring production. Other bamboo products include bamboo curtains, various bamboo sticks (including bamboo incense sticks and bamboo toothpicks), bamboo chopsticks, spherical bamboo charcoal, among others. These products cater to both domestic and international markets, supplying countries in the Arab region and Europe.
According to the information available, another bamboo charcoal factory is soon to commence operations (located near Addis Ababa University), and a bamboo flooring manufacturer is scheduled to start production in March 2014 (headquartered near Mexico Square, with the factory close to Mecanisa Square in the capital).
III. Analysis of Bamboo Industry Development in Ethiopia
(Ⅰ) Both evident opportunities and advantages.
1.The conducive climate and soil conditions provide an ideal environment for bamboo cultivation. Situated in the tropics (between 5°-15°N and 34°-45°E), Ethiopia encompasses predominantly tropical highlands, characterized by a tropical grassland climate. Additionally, there are highland mountain climates and tropical desert climates. Abundant solar and thermal resources, coupled with ample rainfall, contribute to a temperate climate in most regions, with an average annual temperature ranging from 10 to 27°C. The average daily sunshine duration throughout the year is approximately 8.05 hours (reaching a maximum of 10.7 hours). Areas with altitudes exceeding 1,000 meters generally receive rainfall exceeding 1,200 millimeters. Often referred to as the "East African Water Tower," the central highlands are the source of over 30 major rivers. The soil, predominantly acidic, boasts good fertility. The climatic and soil conditions are conducive to the growth of bamboo, a shallow-rooted plant that thrives in warm and humid climates and acidic soils.
2. Existing bamboo resources account for a significant proportion globally, especially in Africa. The world's bamboo forest covers approximately 22 million hectares (with over 70 genera and more than 1,200 species). Bamboo resources are distributed in 3 bamboo regions: the Asia-Pacific bamboo region, the Americas bamboo region, and the Africa bamboo region. The Africa bamboo region constitutes about 7% of the global area. Ethiopia's bamboo forest covers over 1 million hectares, accounting for approximately 5% of the global total area and 71% of Africa's total area.
3. Ethiopia has a solid foundation in bamboo processing and utilization compared to other African countries, leading to its strong regional competitiveness. Most African countries with bamboo forests have a short history and are in the early stages of bamboo processing and utilization. Although Ethiopia's bamboo processing and utilization may be considered less advanced compared to developed countries, it has a long history. In the 1970s, Chinese bamboo handicraft experts came to Ethiopia for training, resulting in a skilled workforce with a solid handicraft foundation in bamboo (and grass) weaving among the public. Especially after China began organizing bamboo processing training courses in Ethiopia in 2005, the development of bamboo furniture production accelerated.
Currently, the bamboo and grass weaving industry in Ethiopia employs approximately 2.0002 million people. Among them, the grass weaving industry employs around 2 million people, with 80% being women; the bamboo weaving industry employs around 200 people, with approximately 150 workers in the mentioned factories and 50 artisanal bamboo weavers. In terms of gender distribution, approximately 60% of the factory workers in the bamboo weaving industry are women, and artisanal bamboo weavers constitute about 10%.
4. Demand in the international and domestic markets is increasing. Domestically, Ethiopian farmers commonly use wood as daily fuel, which is environmentally unfriendly. With the excessive logging of forests, collecting fuel consumes a significant amount of farmers' production or leisure time. Substituting bamboo for fuel not only protects forests and arable land but also, due to its fast growth, significantly saves time for farmers in collecting wood fuel, increasing overall societal investment in other productive labor. Internationally, global trade in bamboo products has grown sixfold in the past 20 years. Especially in the context of the worldwide trend towards environmental sustainability, there is a strong demand for bamboo products in European and American markets.
5. High-level officials in Ethiopia pay attention. Firstly, forestry will be officially separated from agriculture. Ethiopia has now decided to separate forestry from agriculture, establishing a forestry department soon. This signifies the increasing importance the Ethiopian government places on the role of using timber to ensure domestic energy security, protect the ecological environment, and promote a circular economy, which will intensify its focus and investment in the bamboo industry. Secondly, the Ethiopian government, as the current rotating chair of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization, is actively promoting the establishment of the "African Bamboo Center" in Ethiopia.
(II) Challenges that cannot be ignored.
1. Lack of comprehensive surveys on bamboo resources. In recent years, the bamboo forest area in Ethiopia has been decreasing annually, with many bamboo forest areas being converted into agricultural land. The bamboo forest area has not been surveyed and statistically analyzed for many years, and the data changes significantly. Currently, the latest data available for Ethiopian bamboo resources is from 2005.
2. Low investment and unregulated harvesting leading to decreased bamboo production and lower quality. Currently, bamboo supply in Ethiopia is scattered, with no standardized harvesting standards and no policies and measures for sustainable development. There is no collaboration mechanism between farmers and plantations. Bamboo harvesting depends on the needs of middlemen, sold as per demand, and lacks storage facilities. Especially for lowland bamboo, which is natural bamboo forest, there is almost no investment. In highland bamboo, artificial bamboo forests account for only 13%, covering 19,091 hectares. Consequently, bamboo forest area is decreasing year by year, and bamboo quality is continuously decreasing.
3. Expensive transportation and underdeveloped market. There are no processing factories near bamboo forest areas, and bamboo processing sites are far from the bamboo production areas, resulting in high transportation costs. The three major processing cities also lack bamboo distribution centers, and there are no standardized sales outlets for bamboo products. Most bamboo products are sold on the roadside, indicating an underdeveloped market.
4. Weak research and technology dissemination. Bamboo research in Ethiopia started in 1992. Currently, research topics at the Federal Forestry Research Center and universities focus on 1) bamboo reproduction; 2) bamboo forest management; 3) physiological and mechanical characteristics of bamboo; 4) bamboo anatomy and chemical properties; 5) bamboo three-layer boards; 6) bamboo mat boards; 7) bamboo particle boards and chipboard; 8) bamboo medium-density fiberboards; 9) bamboo wettable/contact angle properties; and 10) bamboo processability/durability. However, only general research experiments (bamboo reproduction and bamboo forest management) can be conducted in the country, while other research topics require collaboration with other countries (such as the ICBR laboratory at the International Bamboo and Rattan Network Center in Beijing in 2007). Currently, Ethiopia lacks specialized institutions for bamboo forest cultivation and bamboo processing, and universities and colleges do not offer bamboo cultivation and bamboo processing majors. Only a small number of researchers in federal and state forestry research institutes are engaged in the research and promotion of bamboo forest cultivation and bamboo processing technology, and most of them are part-time, far from meeting the needs of modern bamboo resource development and utilization.
In conclusion, Ethiopia has a comparative advantage in developing the bamboo industry, making it a viable option for local industrialization with distinctive features. The development of the bamboo industry in Ethiopia not only contributes to environmental protection but also saves time spent by society on collecting fuel for other productive activities. Importantly, the low entry barrier of the bamboo industry helps expand employment and achieve industrialization.
