SUNGAI PETANI, April 26 (Bernama) — A total of 49 rubber clones will be shared among 13 countries which are involved in the research and development of rubber industry, in an effort to increase the yields.
It involves countries which have signed the agreement with the International Rubber Research and Development Board (IRRDB), recently.
IRRDB’s secretary-general, Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz S A Kadir said the sharing or exchanging of the clones could shorten the research period and yield better clones, as the period of developing a clone is between 15 and 20 years.
“IRRDB’s board of directors has made a decision to exchange the 49 clones. For instance, a clone from Indonesia will be brought and planted in Kedah, maybe the yield will be better than from the country of origin,” he said.
“Usually these clones were sensitive, however through the agreement that had been made, each member countries will get the clone and we will look which clone is good and can be used.
“There were several countries that have started implementing and Malaysia itself will offer five rubber clones,” he said.
He told reporters after attending the Agronomy and Technology Transfer workshop, organised by the Malaysian Rubber Board and IRRDB.
The event was officiated by Science, Innovation and Information Technology, Communications, High Technology and Human Resources exco Datuk Norsabrina Mohd Noor, here, Tuesday.
— BERNAMA
