The Rubber Board has said that rubber production in the country continues to increase. Production of natural rubber (NR) during April 2017 showed an increase of 23.1 per cent as compared to the production during the same period the year before.
Production during April 2017 stood at 48,000 tonnes whereas it was 39,000 tonnes in April 2016.
“If this trend continues, production of NR during the financial year will reach the anticipated 8 lakh tonnes,” said Rubber Board officials.
The Rubber Board is continuing its activities to make rubber cultivation remunerative by increasing production and productivity and reducing the cost of cultivation and production. The Board has been implementing several activities at regional and field levels, with the active cooperation of Rubber Producer’s Societies (RPSs), to increase the productivity of plantations.
It has started this year’s distribution of inputs, at subsidy rates, through the RPSs. This year, rain-guarding materials and spraying material are being supplied to the RPSs through Board owned companies.
The Board has set a target to achieve the current rubber demand, currently around 10 lakh tonnes, by producing domestically.
It has taken up various initiatives, including adopting the Self Help Group (SHG) model to bring untapped rubber production areas into production areas, promoting block rubbers cultivation, adding around 10,000 hectares of new rubber cultivation area every year in the country, among others.
The strategy is to bring more untapped areas into the fold, increase the productivity through skill development, and adopting better agriculture process. The share of untapped area increased from eight per cent in 2013-14 to 30 per cent in 2015-16.
The Rubber Board is bringing more untapped areas into production by grouping farmers under ‘Tappers Bank’, which works more like an SHG model. Each group will have 10 tappers and it will take care of individual growers.
