Abstract

Bamboo is one of the crop components of the home-garden ecosystem in Kerala. This study was initiated with the objectives of analysing the socio-economic and ecological aspects of developing bamboo resources in home-gardens of Kerala. The report of the study is presented in two parts. Part I covers the ecological aspects as well as the strengths and weakness of traditional practices in home-garden bamboo cultivation and presents two case studies on promotion of bamboo in home-gardens. This report, part 2, examines the economic and management aspects of bamboo in home-gardens of Kerala. The demand for bamboo in Kerala during the year 1993-94 was estimated and the sources-wise supply was quantified. The study revealed that the estimated demand for bamboo in Kerala during the year 1993-94 was 169, 000 metric tonnes of which industries accounted for 38, export for 22 and household and other sectors for 40. Of the total supply of bamboo in Kerala, homegardens contributed 63 and forests the remaining 37. Nearly all the bamboo from forests was utilised by the pulp industry within Kerala, whereas that from home-gardens went for industrial and non-industrial uses within and outside Kerala. The home-garden bomboo market is dominated by wholesale depots based in Palakkad District, which has traditionally been one of the bamboo growing centres in the States. Bamboo production and marketing during 1993-94 provided direct employment for 409, 000 operational days, in rural areas, of which 54 was accounted by socially and economically weaker sections of the society. The market study showed that Bambusa bambos is the only species collected from home-gardens and traded through the wholesale depots. The survey of wholesale bamboo trade indicated that export to the nearby state of Tamil Nadu accounted for 66 and that to Karnataka 20 of the total of 43384 metric tonnes of bamboo sold during the year 1993-94. Socio-economic survey of two bamboo weaving communities showed that weaving contributed 55 (in Sambava households) and 71 (in Kavara households) of the total annual income of Rs. 19, 500 and Rs.16, 300 respectively from all sources during the year 1995-96. Benefit-cost analysis showed that bamboo crop has the second economic position in the two village studied using the criterion of net benefit per ha per annum at 18 land rent. In the development of bamboo resources in home-gardens, particularly in Palakkad and nearby districts, the wholesale depots have a crucial role to play