Bamboos are an important component of rural farming systems of the Terai and Midhills of Nepal. They are mainly grown in homesteads and degraded lands, and help sustain livelihoods of many rural people that include socially and economically disadvantaged groups. Very few species can match them in terms of uses, as they are flexible, easy to bend and split into small pieces with superior strength. They can be used for house construction, furniture, woven products, small household utility items, and leaves fodder bank to be used during scarcity and in the dry season. New bamboo shoots provide valuable source of nutrients for human consumption along with some medicinal uses. Rural households' interest towards bamboo growing has considerably increased during the recent years. The perceived scarcity of forest products, fast growing nature of bamboos and its potential as a source of income has made it like a cash crop, particularly in areas having good infrastructure such as roads and transport services. Based on the detailed socioeconomic study conducted on bamboos in eastern Terai and Midhills, and author's long association with bamboo and socioeconomic research and literature review, this paper provides information on: the role of bamboos in rural farming systems; trends of bamboo-growing in relation to farm size; biomass production; its characteristics as a farm crop; and the existing trends of utilization and management practices, problems and constraints associated with bamboo planting in Nepal.