Agartala, February 04, 2026: The promotion of agroforestry and bamboo sectors in Assam has gained significant momentum through coordinated efforts of the State Government, supported by multiple initiatives of the Government of India, particularly in the hill districts of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao.
While agroforestry and bamboo development are primarily State subjects, the Union Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), has been extending targeted financial and technical support to Assam under various schemes.
To strengthen agroforestry, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PMRKVY) has been under implementation since 2023–24. The scheme focuses on establishing and strengthening nurseries and supplying quality planting material such as seeds, seedlings, clones, hybrids and improved varieties to farmers to enhance tree cover on agricultural land. In Assam, support has been provided for nursery creation, farmer training and free sapling distribution, with special focus on Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts.
Under PMRKVY–Agroforestry, Assam was allocated Rs. 4.50 crore during 2023–24 and 2024–25, against which Rs. 4.09 crore was released, resulting in the establishment of 35 new nurseries. In the current financial year 2025–26, Rs. 5.20 crore has already been released, enabling the creation of 51 additional nurseries. Now in its third year, the scheme in Assam has shown early benefits in income diversification and livelihood support through tree-based and bamboo agroforestry systems, with emphasis on intercropping to ensure short-term income for farmers.
Parallelly, the Assam State Bamboo Mission (ASBM) has undertaken large-scale bamboo plantation drives, covering around 1,585 hectares between 2019 and 2026, mainly in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao. The mission has established nurseries, conducted awareness programmes and trained about 300 farmers in scientific bamboo cultivation. Around six lakh bamboo saplings, including high-yielding varieties, have been planted, generating livelihood opportunities and supporting cluster-based development.
ASBM has also focused on enterprise and skill development, benefiting over 400 participants through training programmes, distributing 1,022 toolkits to artisans, and promoting bamboo-based industries such as the Bamboo Incense Stick Making Cluster. Processed bamboo products have been included in the Assam PWD Schedule of Rates, improving market access and employment prospects for artisans.
Further strengthening Assam’s bamboo economy, the Ministry of DoNER has recently sanctioned two projects to develop bamboo-based economic clusters in the North Eastern Region, including Karbi Anglong in Assam. These projects aim to modernize traditional bamboo artisan clusters, enhance market access, promote engineered bamboo products, and support exports through state-of-the-art processing units, certified plantations and advanced skill training for youth and artisans.
In addition, the North East Cane and Bamboo Development Council (NECBDC) has signed MoUs with leading e-commerce platforms to facilitate national and international market access for bamboo products from Assam and the wider North East.
Over the past decade, 42 agroforestry and bamboo-related projects worth Rs. 230.31 crore have been supported under North Eastern Council schemes. The information was shared by the Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region, Dr. Sukanta Majumdar, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
