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Recommends bamboo cultivation for wasteland utilization
When it is impossible to grow any crop on the land it is termed as wasteland. Why waste the land when bamboo is available? High demand, secured market, environmental friendly, improves soil fertility, prevents soil erosion and controls floods are the few advantages of the bamboo cultivation. Mr. Arun Ishwar Wandre, working as consultant for biomass power sector energy crop production.. “I did horticulture farming myself and faced many problems like intensive price fluctuations, climatic hurdles, labor issues and so on. All these tribulations didn’t allow me to enjoy farming hence I looked for a solution and got it with bamboo cultivation. Presently I am maintaining 25 commercial bamboo species in my farm,” he shares. To help other farmers grow and maintain bamboo cultivation he established Ishwar Agri Business & Energy Solutions in 2013.
Company provides consultancy for bamboo cultivation, technical know-how, planting material and bamboo buy-back offers. It is located at Kolhapur, Maharashtra. “I have set up bamboo demonstration farm for farmers to see and visualize the potential of this crop,” he informs. Services are offered across the country.
Region having high rainfall and prone to floods is ideal for bamboo cultivation. Once the sapling is planted it gives production for more than 100 years. “There is no need for re-transplanting bamboo. It is steady and fastest growing plant. Further to make the commercial bamboo cultivation profitable high density farming should be done. In one hectare the plants can be planted keeping the distance row-row 12 feet and plant-plant 4 feet. It shall accommodate 2250 saplings in one hectare.
Bamboo is grown in irrigated farmland. Tissue culture plants are available all the year round hence the crop can be planted in any month however monsoon season is most preferred for plantation. The tissue culture plants are sold at Rs. 35/plant. Cost of cultivation in the first year is Rs. 2 lakh per hectare. Rs. 50 thousand is annual recurring expense in bamboo cultivation.
Depending on the application/use harvesting is done. “If the bamboo is used as biomass energy/fuel/briquetting then it is harvested first in 2 years. If it is sold as pole then it is harvested first after 3 years. In both the cases after the first harvest the production is attained every year,” explains Mr. Arun.
When the bamboo is harvested after two years the first production attained is 50-60 ton/hectare and it can fetch net profit Rs. 2 lakh. “Second year onwards the production will increase and so the profits. When it is harvested after three years, the pole bamboo (20 fee height) obtained is 12500 poles/hectare that would give net profit of Rs. 3 lakh,” he claims. Pole bamboos are needed for furniture and strong structures as used in for making houses. In all there are 1500 applications of bamboo therefore it has stable demand and market.
Mr. Arun has tie-up with three biomass power plants in Konkan belt. He supplies all his farm produced bamboo to these plants that has everyday requirement of 500-1000 ton. “These plants are unable to run on full capacity due to inadequate bamboo supply. Farmers must think on the potential available for secured earnings with bamboo!’ he emphasizes. Further the unique feature of the crop is that it requires minimum monitoring. One single labor can manage 10 acres cultivation. “Farm owners can visit the farm once or twice in a year.”
Leaves shed from bamboo make good biomass for manure. “Every year per hectare farmers can procure 12-13 ton shed leaves. It the farmer set up a vermicompost then he can produce 15 ton organic manure,” suggests Mr. Arun. “This manure can be used as fertilizer in the farmers’ field itself. In this way it can reduce the recurring cost as well.” It can be grown on the farm boundary and sloppy areas as well.
Sharing future plans he says, “I want to encourage farmers to produce bamboo to fulfill the raw material requirement of the Maharashtra power industry. I want to work alongside with big farmers group and increase the bamboo cultivation area. I want to bring in more technology too.”
Mr. Arun Ishwar Wandre did his graduation in agriculture from College of Agriculture, Nagpur in 1994. He served for a drip irrigation manufacturing company for six years. Later to which he turned into a full time farmer with cashew, mango, chickoo and guava plantation in 30 acres. In 2007 he started deep research and farming of bamboo that he promotes aggressively now. “Bamboo has the potential to turn every wasteland into lucrative mines,” he concludes.
Contact details:
Ishwar Agri Business & Energy Solutions
Plot no 12 B , Kalikate Nagar , Puikhadi, Kolhapur 416012
Mobile - 09422802750, 08625822433
E-mail: arun.wandre@yahoo.com
When it is impossible to grow any crop on the land it is termed as wasteland. Why waste the land when bamboo is available? High demand, secured market, environmental friendly, improves soil fertility, prevents soil erosion and controls floods are the few advantages of the bamboo cultivation. Mr. Arun Ishwar Wandre, working as consultant for biomass power sector energy crop production.. “I did horticulture farming myself and faced many problems like intensive price fluctuations, climatic hurdles, labor issues and so on. All these tribulations didn’t allow me to enjoy farming hence I looked for a solution and got it with bamboo cultivation. Presently I am maintaining 25 commercial bamboo species in my farm,” he shares. To help other farmers grow and maintain bamboo cultivation he established Ishwar Agri Business & Energy Solutions in 2013.
Company provides consultancy for bamboo cultivation, technical know-how, planting material and bamboo buy-back offers. It is located at Kolhapur, Maharashtra. “I have set up bamboo demonstration farm for farmers to see and visualize the potential of this crop,” he informs. Services are offered across the country.
Region having high rainfall and prone to floods is ideal for bamboo cultivation. Once the sapling is planted it gives production for more than 100 years. “There is no need for re-transplanting bamboo. It is steady and fastest growing plant. Further to make the commercial bamboo cultivation profitable high density farming should be done. In one hectare the plants can be planted keeping the distance row-row 12 feet and plant-plant 4 feet. It shall accommodate 2250 saplings in one hectare.
Bamboo is grown in irrigated farmland. Tissue culture plants are available all the year round hence the crop can be planted in any month however monsoon season is most preferred for plantation. The tissue culture plants are sold at Rs. 35/plant. Cost of cultivation in the first year is Rs. 2 lakh per hectare. Rs. 50 thousand is annual recurring expense in bamboo cultivation.
Depending on the application/use harvesting is done. “If the bamboo is used as biomass energy/fuel/briquetting then it is harvested first in 2 years. If it is sold as pole then it is harvested first after 3 years. In both the cases after the first harvest the production is attained every year,” explains Mr. Arun.
When the bamboo is harvested after two years the first production attained is 50-60 ton/hectare and it can fetch net profit Rs. 2 lakh. “Second year onwards the production will increase and so the profits. When it is harvested after three years, the pole bamboo (20 fee height) obtained is 12500 poles/hectare that would give net profit of Rs. 3 lakh,” he claims. Pole bamboos are needed for furniture and strong structures as used in for making houses. In all there are 1500 applications of bamboo therefore it has stable demand and market.
Mr. Arun has tie-up with three biomass power plants in Konkan belt. He supplies all his farm produced bamboo to these plants that has everyday requirement of 500-1000 ton. “These plants are unable to run on full capacity due to inadequate bamboo supply. Farmers must think on the potential available for secured earnings with bamboo!’ he emphasizes. Further the unique feature of the crop is that it requires minimum monitoring. One single labor can manage 10 acres cultivation. “Farm owners can visit the farm once or twice in a year.”
Leaves shed from bamboo make good biomass for manure. “Every year per hectare farmers can procure 12-13 ton shed leaves. It the farmer set up a vermicompost then he can produce 15 ton organic manure,” suggests Mr. Arun. “This manure can be used as fertilizer in the farmers’ field itself. In this way it can reduce the recurring cost as well.” It can be grown on the farm boundary and sloppy areas as well.
Sharing future plans he says, “I want to encourage farmers to produce bamboo to fulfill the raw material requirement of the Maharashtra power industry. I want to work alongside with big farmers group and increase the bamboo cultivation area. I want to bring in more technology too.”
Mr. Arun Ishwar Wandre did his graduation in agriculture from College of Agriculture, Nagpur in 1994. He served for a drip irrigation manufacturing company for six years. Later to which he turned into a full time farmer with cashew, mango, chickoo and guava plantation in 30 acres. In 2007 he started deep research and farming of bamboo that he promotes aggressively now. “Bamboo has the potential to turn every wasteland into lucrative mines,” he concludes.
Contact details:
Ishwar Agri Business & Energy Solutions
Plot no 12 B , Kalikate Nagar , Puikhadi, Kolhapur 416012
Mobile - 09422802750, 08625822433
E-mail: arun.wandre@yahoo.com