Promoting Green Growth of Forest Products Industry in Nigeria through Bamboo Development

Mechanical processing of bamboo is fast becoming a reality in most economies ranging from Asia to Europe and the United States of America. In Nigeria, forest industry which consists of sawmills, furniture, plywood, particleboard, matches and wood treatment subsectors are undergoing difficult times as a result of dwindling wood resources. Capacity utilization in most of the subsectors has been dipping since the last 20 years. Thus, Nigeria is placing heavy reliance on importation of primary and secondary raw materials for use in the sector. In the first quarter of 2010, Nigeria imported wood products which consist of plywood, kiln and air dried lumber that cost the nation about 20 million euro. This development has made a number of industries to close down. To revitalize the forest industry, it is imperative for the government to initiate plans that will encourage investment in bamboo processing locally. The first step should be institute a bamboo policy framework that will provide guidelines for development of local bamboo industry. The establishment of a bamboo development council will accelerate development of bamboo production and processing in line with the practice in some parts of the world. In line with the extant situation in the forest products industry in Nigeria, the bamboo based investments required for optimal growth of the industry include ply bamboo, mat curtain plywood, chipboards, floor tiles, laminated bamboo strips and bamboo composite products. These products would find application in the furniture, houses and bridges construction industries, including internal applications such as in interior decorations, etc. The development of bamboo industry in Nigeria will solve a lot of social, economic and environmental problems locally. Keyword: bamboo, plybamboo, bamboo composite products, capacity utilization, investment