Some 200,000 Bamboo Seedlings to be Planted Across Nile Valley
Some 200,000 seedlings have been readied to be planted across the Nile Valley during this rainy season, the Ethiopian Forestry Development has announced.
The seedlings will be planted as part of the Nile Valley Bamboo Cultivation project.
Deputy Director of Ethiopian Forestry Development, Dr. Motuma Tolera, said the development of lowland bamboo in the Nile Valley is one of the key projects undertaken by the institute.
According to him, efforts are being made to restore the natural resources of the Nile Valley to prevent soil erosion and create an opportunity for the farmers to benefit from planting the bamboo trees.
Noting that the necessary supports are being provided with a view to ensuring the continuity of the project, Motuma said that “in this regard we will exert efforts to continue working in cooperation with research institutions.”
As the economic and social benefits of the bamboo plant are significant, the bamboo cultivation project will continue intensively, he added.
Bamboo tree plantings carried out last year was deemed a success, it was learned.
Natural resources and environmental science experts have been recommending that the Nile River valley and the high mountains of Ethiopia should be reforested to avoid desertification and environmental degradation.
Since last year, the Ethiopian Forestry Development, with the support of the Norwegian government, in collaboration with Salale and Debre Markos Universities, has been cultivating bamboo on both the left and right banks of the Nile Valley to protect the Nile Basin from soil erosion.
As part of that project, the institutes has been planting more than a quarter of a million lowland bamboo seedlings in the adjacent areas Oromia and Amhara Regional States, it was learned.
Forest Researchers, Dr. Adefris Work, and Adugunye Admas Karekha, said that protecting the ecosystem of the Nile valley is no option.
Bamboo can be a good answer to curbing environmental damage and it also has a good economic contribution.
The researchers said that once the bamboo is planted, it reproduces itself and has a cooling effect in dry places and added that it is suitable for soil protection.
In this way, research institutes have worked together to restore the damaged land of the Nile Valley and made a demonstration project a reality.
They explained that the Kola bamboo variety is the best solution to prevent soil erosion in the Nile valley.
Studies show that Ethiopia is the first in Africa in terms of bamboo forest resources.
Source: Ethiopia News Agency