NewsRepublic of Chad joins INBAR
INBAR’s 49th Member State ready to scale up its bamboo and rattan resources.
On 1 September 2022, INBAR welcomed the Republic of Chad as its 49th Member State and 21st Member State in Africa.
Prior to becoming a full member of INBAR, Chad had a long-lasting relationship with INBAR as an Observer to the organization. In April 2022, high-level officials from Chad attended the First African Bamboo and Rattan Congress convened in Yaoundé. Moreover, in 2020 and 2022, the Director General of INBAR accompanied by the Regional Director for Central Africa paid working visits to Chad and held bilateral strategic meetings with authorities in Ndjamena, the capital city.
Going forward, Chad’s designated focal point with INBAR will be the Ministry of Environment, Fisheries and Sustainable Development
In certain regions of the country, particularly the southeast, bamboo is a key resource and material used daily to make agricultural tools such as hoes, axes and fences. Bamboo is also used for making furniture (beds), with applications in construction (roofs), boosting livelihoods of local communities. However, smallholders face difficulties in obtaining bamboo seedlings and tend to lack the technical know-how for cultivation, challenging the standardization of bamboo management. INBAR, in partnership with the Government of Chad, will work to generate tailor-made solutions to address these challenges and support the sustainable development of the country’s bamboo and rattan sector, with the main goal of tackling environmental and economic issues through South-South cooperation as well as technology and solutions transfer.
According to FAO, only one variety of bamboo has been identified to date, Oxytenanthera abyssinica.
