Jaipur, July 12 -- To boost rural livelihoods and promote sustainable agriculture, governor Haribhau Bagade directed officials on Friday to formulate a comprehensive plan for bamboo cultivation in the state. Citing its economic and environmental benefits, he also emphasised utilising arid land for bamboo farming and developing a strong marketing and training ecosystem to support farmers. The governor was speaking at a meeting on "The Role of Bamboo in Rural Livelihood Generation" at the Raj Bhavan. The meeting was organised in light of the environmental and economic significance of bamboo and the benefits that the farmers in Maharashtra are reaping from bamboo-based products. Bamboo expert and chairman of the Chief Minister's Task Force on Environment and Sustainable Development in Maharashtra, Pasha Patel, was invited for the meeting. Bagade emphasised that officials should identify available land in low-water areas of the state suitable for bamboo cultivation and prepare a marketing strategy for bamboo-related products, so that farmers can derive maximum economic benefit. He stressed the need for targeted efforts to promote bamboo farming in Rajasthan's arid regions. He said that bamboo cultivation would not only benefit farmers economically but also accelerate environmental conservation in the state. He directed officials to encourage farmers to grow bamboo, provide them with training, and demonstrate successful bamboo cultivation experiments in specific areas. He highlighted that bamboo is particularly suitable for Rajasthan's hot climate and emphasized developing a mindset to utilize large tracts of available land for bamboo. He urged that farmers be motivated to take up bamboo cultivation and suggested incentivizing them through grain or other subsidy schemes. Bagade pointed out that bamboo grows rapidly like grass, and the Government of India has amended the law to classify it as grass instead of a forest plant, enabling farmers to gain economic benefits from it. He said promoting bamboo exports could contribute to national economic growth. He called for not only promoting bamboo cultivation in Rajasthan but also training farmers in diversifying bamboo-based products. According to Pasha Patel, bamboo production could prove to be a boon for Rajasthan, given it does not have a hot climate, in terms of both environmental conservation and farmer income. He said bamboo cultivation started in China in the 1980s and has since become a major economic asset. While India has 10 million hectares of bamboo, compared to China's 5 million hectares, India hasn't been able to capitalise it due to poor marketing and lack of product diversity. He highlighted the significance of bamboo in building a "Green India," stating that since its reclassification as grass, Maharashtra has witnessed rapid growth in this sector. India is now a leader in bamboo construction, furniture, and other products. Additional chief secretary Shreya Guha said that work will be initiated on bamboo production potential and training programmes will be launched under the Rajeevika scheme....