Challenges in the development of the bamboo value chain in Thanh Hoa province

Bamboo plays an important role in the environment protection and climate change mitigation, and in the livelihoods of ethnic minorities in mountainous districts of Thanh Hoa province. However, the development of clumping giant bamboo (Dendrocalamus barbatus) value chain faces many difficulties including the poor coordination among stakeholders and the capability of stakeholders of the chain. This study points out the bottlenecks in the development of clumping giant bamboo value chain in Thanh Hoa province. The study uses both primary and secondary data. Primary data is collected through in-depth interviews with stakeholders of the chain, group discussions and observations. The study finds out that bamboo growers’ awareness of sustainable planting and harvesting is quite low. In addition, bamboo growers have not yet received supports from bamboo processing enterprises. Bamboo processing enterprises face difficulties in accessing capital to improve their production and challenges of access to market.