Ruiru Agricultural officer Grace maina has appealed to the residents to embrace bamboo planting as a commercial business, saying its selling and becoming popular in furniture making
She was speaking from her office on Tuesday where she urged the residents to embrace the bamboo as very few farmers have started this farming and is very successful.
She revealed that Githunguri sub-county farmers started the programme, and the farming is proving to be successful with the farmers reaping big from the sale of the products.
She went on to say that the farming is giving rise to more skill in carpentry apprenticeship, as the carpenters are learning how to make furniture using the new bamboo trees wood.
Maina added that the artwork has enabled the jobless youth in Githunguri to engage themselves in constructive work that is making them some cash to support their families.
“we want to engage the youth in this exercise because we are sure the problem affecting the youth in this county is joblessness, and we are sure when we engage them in practices like this, one they will not die of alcoholism and still we shall improve the standards of living of this youths,” added the officer.
According to the officer, bamboo is also adding up the counties ability to engage the residents in constructive and money-making activities as the farmers are provided with cheap bamboo seedlings to plant.
She cited one Gerald Kamanu in Githunguri, aged 27, who has engaged in planting bamboo seedbeds, and the county has been buying the seedlings from him and offering them to the residents who are willing to participate in the farming.
She said that the single producer cannot manage to get the market for the whole county, but the county government needs more people to put up seedbeds to enable them feed the demand of the whole county.
“We have a single producer of the bamboo seedlings and we need more to feed the demand of the farmers who want to engage in this farming,” said Maina.