The Kenya National Bamboo Workshop

1. Developing a National Bamboo Sector:
Policy Lessons from China
MR. OLIVER FRITH, ACTING DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL PROGRAMME COORDINATOR

2. A
C
B|
INTRO – CHINA’S BAMBOO
SECTOR: HEADLINE
FIGURES
|
KEY SECTOR COMPONENTS,
PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE
|
KEY LESSONS

3. CHINA’S BAMBOO SECTOR IN NUMBERS
• Value: >US$ 20 billion (2012)
• Global Export Share: 60%
• Employment: 7.75 million
• Product types: >10,000
• Coverage: >6 million ha
• Standing culm: 28620000000
• Species: > 500 - 40 genera
• Carbon: 727.08 Tg (2010)
Sources: SFA 2012 & Chen et al, 2009 Anji County, Zhejiang Province, China

4. FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS:
ROME WASN’T BUILT IN A DAY
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
CYN(100million)
YEAR
Change in Bamboo Production Value 1981-2012
Source: SFA 2012

5. FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS:
ROME WASN’T BUILT IN A DAY
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1973-76 1977-83 1984-1988 1989-1993 1994-1998 1999-2003 2004-2008 2009-2013
Hectares(1million)
Years
Bamboo Cover Change 1973-2013
Source: SFA National Forest Inventory

6. DISPELLING A MYTH
SECTOR DEVELOPMENT DUE TO MOSO
Monopodial
- Productivity 3-25 tonnes/ha
- Harvestable age 4-7 years
- Temperate bamboos
Sympodial
- Productivity 5–40 tonnes/ha
- Harvestable age 3-5 years
- Tropical bamboos

7. HOW DID CHINA ACHIEVE SUCH GROWTH?
Key Initial First Steps
TENURE RIGHTS
• Smallholder farmers gained
tenure rights in 1980s
• 90s tenure transfer allowed
• Forest Tenure Centres set
up 2004 provide other
services too - market info,
asset evaluation, transport
permits, bidding and
auctions, mortgage & loan
• Land Ownership not critical
– Govt. Owned
Forest Tenure Certification – Anji County, China

8. HOW DID CHINA ACHIEVE SUCH GROWTH?
Key Initial First Steps
SFM, CAPACITY BUILDING,
DEMONSTRATION & PLANNING
• Training – Anji County alone
has trained 35,000 in 20yrs
• Demo households – higher
yields & profits encourage
farmers to change
• Demo Areas -1996, 10 top
Regions & Counties named
China Bamboo Hometown –
2006 expanded to 30
Bamboo Shoot Production Training & Demonstration, Anji, China

9. HOW DID CHINA ACHIEVE SUCH GROWTH?
Key Initial First Steps
EXTENSION SUPPORT
• Infrastructure – Transport
links to bamboo producing
areas; nurseries, collection
points
• Pest & Fire Control – Forest
Bureau responsibility

10. HOW DID CHINA ACHIEVE SUCH GROWTH?
Key Initial First Steps
Private Sector Driven
• Large ‘Dragon Head’
enterprises – drive
demand and link
smallholders to markets
• Private Sector Innovation
and R&D linked to Govt.
institutions
• On-farm processing –
Lower cost, higher local
valueSource: Zhu, 2006

11. HOW DID CHINA ACHIEVE SUCH GROWTH?
Key Initial First Steps
Financial Packages
• Subsidies – Smallholder
new plantation US$250/ha
• 5% Discount Rate loans –
e.g. new company
plantation & ecotourism
• VAT & Stamp Tax
Exemption – cooperatives
• Export Duty Refund – 9%
flooring, 13% furniture
2004 Anji County White Paper – Forestry Sectore Modernisation

12. HOW DID CHINA ACHIEVE SUCH GROWTH?
Consolidation and Innovation
Research, Development &
Standardization
• Large investments in R&D
and Education Programmes
– ICBR set up 2001
• Standards – 28 national
(2014) and many more
industry & regional ones
• IPR Protection – e.g. in
2009, South-China Forestry
IP Alliance set up

13. BUILDING THE SECTOR FURTHER:
Latest developments
New Financial Policy
• Tenure Right Mortgages –
increase financial resources
available to forestry
• Forestry Insurance – new
insurance products to
protect farmers against risk
• Carbon Forestry – CGCF set
up in 2003 & 154,000 T sold
Farmers Receive Carbon Certification, CGCF

14. • Central Finance subsidizes 50% of the insurance premium paid for
ecological forest and 30% for commercial forest under following
conditions:
– local finances shall subsidizes at least 40% of the insurance premium for ecological
forest, while the provincial finance shall subsidize at least 25%; the provincial finance
shall subsidize at least 25% for commercial forest
• The forest insurance subsidy from the Central Finance started as of 2009.
• Since 2012, a total of 17 provinces (autonomous regions and
municipalities) have been included into the category of forest insurance
subsidy by the Central Finance, and 1.289 billion Mu (85 million ha) are
covered by forest insurance.
FOREST INSURANCE POLICY
Latest developments
Source: Ministry of State Finance and SFA, 2013

15. 2013-2020 NATIONAL BAMBOO PLAN
2020 Targets
• Value: >US$ 48 billion
• Employment: 10 million
• Farm Income: $330 per
cap.
• Nurseries: 411 new & 242
improved
• Coverage: 7 million ha – 1
million ha afforestation & 3
million hectares increased
productivity
Sources: SFA 2012

16. CHALLENGES – MISTAKES TO AVOID
Sources: INBAR 2009
• Monoculture – Moso
Bamboo dominates
- Large drops biodiversity
- Reduced long-term yields
- increased pest
- reduced resilience
• Over competition – Too
many low-cost products
flooding market

17. LESSONS FOR KENYA
• Importance of long-term, result-based planning
• Firm ownership of policy from State Forestry Administration (SFA)
• Multi-sector, Multi-stakeholder approaches highly beneficial
• Good linkage to broader programmes (e.g. landscape restoration
& climate change) bamboo as a strategic resource
• Prominent role for private individuals and enterprise
• Government provides investment signals & infrastructure
• Small forest land areas & high regulatory burden being addressed
via consolidation – cooperatives, transfers, contract farming
• Production forestry at expense biodiversity & environ. Safeguards
• Subsidies can lead to over-competition

18. Contents
Thank You!
Find out more at:
www.inbar.int
Mr. Oliver Frith - obfrith@inbar.int