Abstract
Many bamboo species are well suited for agroforestry as they are more versatile and rapidly renewable than trees. Bamboo is an important income source for rural villagers around the world, especially in tropical developing countries, such as Lao PDR (Lao People’s Democratic Republic). This study applied a value chain approach to compare potential incomes from different bamboo utilization models: (1) existing model of selling semi-processed raw materials (bamboo splits), and (2) new model of producing handcraft products locally. Using a rural village in eastern Lao PDR (Nongboua village in Vientiane Capital province) as a case study, we provided empirical assessments of two bamboo value chains. Based on interviews with the villagers and stakeholders and government statistical data from 2017 to 2019, existing and new bamboo production chains were evaluated. In the existing value chain, the final products, bamboo chopsticks, are worth $6.74/kg. The value chain starts with bamboo harvesting, collection, and management, which are done by villagers in Lao PDR and taxed by the Lao PDR government. Bamboo splits are then transported to Vietnam to make the final products to sell. Local villagers received only 4.9% of the total value. The new bamboo handicraft model could produce 9 bamboo cups and 60 medals from one bamboo stem worth $52.6–61.7 and $343.8. In this value chain, bamboo harvesting, management, and processing to final products are done by villagers. The handcrafts were collected by traders to be sold at souvenir shops. Local villagers could capture 29.4%–42.3% of the total values. Producing bamboo cup and medal could generate 1.12–2.17 and 234.8–244.6 times higher income for villagers per labor hour and per bamboo stem, respectively, and allow them to use more bamboo resource than producing bamboo splits to export to Vietnam. If applied to other rural areas in Lao PDR, the new bamboo product model for handicrafts can be a better income source for local villagers in Lao PDR with sustainable use of bamboo resources than the existing model. However, it requires extensive bamboo handicrafts training over a year. Although alternative uses of bamboo would be different depending on social, economic, and market contexts, the value chain analysis demonstrated in this study can be applied elsewhere to increase local retention of economic values generated from agroforestry.
Highlights
Agroforestry is a collection of land-use systems and practices where woody plants are integrated with other crops and animals [1]
The value chain of the existing bamboo products produced mostly bamboo chopsticks and incense stick in Vietnamese markets, which required raw materials from local villages in Lao PDR. This value chain had the functions in the following order: bamboo harvesting, collection and management of bamboo splits, transportation, processing at factories, and sales (Figure 2)
Local villagers harvested bamboo stems from bamboo forest to supply raw materials for chopsticks and incense stick in Vietnam
Summary
Agroforestry is a collection of land-use systems and practices where woody plants are integrated with other crops and animals [1]. Agroforestry consists of agrisilviculture, silvopasture, forest farming, and other practices, of which the forest farming plays a key role in offering timber and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in tropical and subtropical region [2]. Bamboo is regarded as one of the fastest-growing plants on earth [9]. It belongs to Gramineae family and Bambusoideae subfamily that has approximately 121 genera and 1662 species of bamboo, of which 232 (14%) have been found worldwide beyond their native ranges [10]. Bamboo, which has played an important role in rural economies for centuries, became an indispensable part of emerging economies around the world as one of the most traded NTFPs especially in tropical regions [11,12,13,14]
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