Review of Bamboo Value Chain in Ethiopia

Abstract

Ethiopia has greatest bamboo resources (Yushania alpine and Oxytenantheria abyssinica) in Africa representing a significant proportion of Africa’s total bamboo resources. The main objective of this review to increase the understanding of problems and constraints facing bamboo production and marketing system, current opportunities and challenges of bamboo marketing, economic, environmental and aesthetic value of bamboo in Ethiopia. Bamboo value chain includes wide range of production to consumption systems and actors. Depending on which market is served, the bamboo products in Ethiopia passes through various intermediary stages until it reaches the final customers. But their value chain linkage is undeveloped. Bamboo agribusiness has worldwide opportunities. Bamboo products currently have very huge demand.  It can be utilized at all levels of industrial activity from small craft based industries to modern highly integrated plants. Imbalance between demand and supply is one the core challenges to bamboo agribusiness sector in Ethiopia. Bamboo has huge economic, environmental, aesthetic/cultural values. It is applicable in a variety of engineering fields including landscape, civil and chemical engineering. Bamboo has also culture value in addition to economic and ecological value in Ethiopia. For example Dawuro in Ethiopia; the longest woodwind musical instrument in the world locally called "Dinka" (4 to 5 meters long, four in number) which is made from bamboo and other materials. Therefore; bamboo has worldwide uses ranges from medicine to nutrition (has 1500 uses). It is possible to exploit the existing opportunities of bamboo sub-sector through value chain approach by promoting the formation of farmers’ associations, provision of appropriate technology and training for pre-processing, facilitating capacity development with technology transfer and upgrading skills in bamboo processing and creation of a network and links with other associations, stakeholders and partners are important to solve challenges of bamboo industry in Ethiopia.

Keywords: Bamboo, Value chain, Challenges, Opportunities, Economic, environmental and aesthetic/cultural value, Ethiopia