'Rubber production needs to be ramped up'
The production and productivity of natural rubber should be enhanced in the medium- to long-term in order to meet the ever increasing demand, said Vijaylaxmi Joshi, additional secretary (plantations), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The government can only make programmes and policies aimed at this, but it is up to the growers to implement them at the practical level in the field, she said.
While inaugurating 'Tapping 2011', the intensive mass contact programme of the Rubber Board at Kottayam on Monday, she urged the growers to adopt scientific tapping methods to face problems such as shortage of tappers and to increase the productive period of the rubber plantations.
Rubber Board chairperson Sheela Thomas pointed out that in spite of the reasonably good prices of NR, the sector is facing several problems and these can be addressed by the joint efforts of the Board and the growers.
The board is aiming to enhance productivity of smallholdings so that growers benefit from the prevailing prices. The productivity of the holdings mainly depends on tapping methods. The highest productivity has been noticed in holdings where scientific tapping methods are adopted, she said.
Good tapping depends on many factors such as girth and tapping height of trees, direction and slope of the tapping panel, depth and consumption of bark and time of tapping. Such holdings give sustainably good yield for many years and are comparatively free from diseases.
The mass contact programme, Tapping 2011, is scheduled to be held from June 6 to July 22. It is aimed at creating awareness among the rubber growers about the significance of scientific tapping and to promote modern scientific practices in all spheres of rubber plantation industry.
Four thousand meetings with a participation of 150,000 growers and tappers will be arranged in the traditional rubber growing belt of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka with the involvement of the Rubber Producers’ societies, self-help groups, non-governmental organisations and other voluntary organizations, a Rubber Board press release said.
In addition to the main theme of rubber tapping, topics like importance of replanting, climate change, quality planting materials, significance of scientific planting and maintenance of rubber plantations, rainguarding, use of Jebong knife, spraying of oil based fungicides using micron sprayers, scarcity of skilled tappers and strengthening of RPSs will also be discussed in the campaign meetings.