The Bamboo Shoots Up
| AUTHOR | Aditi Palo |
| DATE | August 12, 2026 |
| CATEGORIES | Advanced Biology Bioeconomy |
The bamboo has a very interesting growth pattern. In the initial years, the above-ground growth is next to zero, making you question its existence. This is followed by a dramatic entry onto the stage - a sudden explosion of the shoots during the growing season, making it one of the fastest-growing plants on Earth. Ironically, unlike the bamboo plant, the Indian bamboo industry hasn’t really made its dramatic entry into the economy. For centuries, the Indian bamboo industry has its roots deeply woven into our communities, yet its potential remains underground, unseen and untapped. What would it take for us to get our bamboo industry to shoot up?
During the initial growth years, the bamboo establishes its underground infrastructure with its roots, rhizomes, and underground buds. In the past decade, India has similarly laid out a great foundation for the bamboo industry. In 2017, the Indian Forest (Amendment) Act removed the word “bamboo” from the category of a tree. This seemingly simple change eliminated an important colonial-era regulatory barrier and paved the way for bamboo to become our economic asset. A year later, the National Bamboo Mission was relaunched with the primary aim of expanding bamboo cultivation on non-forest and private lands to boost farmers’ incomes. And now, in June this year, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $42.2 million Small Expenditure Financing Facility (SEFF) to develop the bamboo industry in India’s northeastern states. Thanks to these initiatives, India now reports about 13.96 million hectares of bamboo-bearing area and 136 species, making it the second-richest country in bamboo diversity after China.
Despite these foundational measures, India is still importing more than 90% of several major bamboo grades from China. India has the roots and the land. India has the policy and the money. Yet the country with one of the world’s largest bamboo resources is still importing. This indicates a fundamental gap in our bamboo strategy. We have focused on building the raw material base, but not enough on building the industry to utilise it. In our bamboo plant metaphor, the resources have accumulated in the roots, but the shoot is unable to ascend rapidly. What policy recommendations can elevate India’s bamboo strategy to tackle this gap?
The answer lies in the creation of a favourable environment. The buds in a bamboo plant convert into shoots only when there is ambient temperature, soil moisture, and sunlight. If nourished, the shoot then begins its ascent directed along a vertical trajectory. India needs to complement its target of horizontally expanding the area under bamboo cultivation with a focus on vertically growing up the value chain. It is not about how much bamboo we can grow, but rather about how much value we can get from every bamboo we grow. We must create a conducive environment for bamboo processing and engineering to generate high-value products. Bamboo processing clusters can be one way to connect the farmers with the processors and product manufacturers.
In the third and final phase of growth, the established underground rhizome network allows new shoots to emerge around the primary shoot. Investing in the bamboo value chain will amount to amplified investments in various other industries. For instance, it will impact the industries of construction through bamboo panels, textiles through bamboo fibers, chemicals through its lignocellulose, and energy through the residual biomass. All we need to start with is one bamboo shoot, and before we know it, we can grow a grove.
The roots of the bamboo are firm. The buds of the bamboo are ready to shoot up. It’s time India let them.