Rubber Board to come out with data bank for tappers

The Rubber Board is preparing a data bank of tappers in Kerala. This is the first-ever attempt to prepare such a data base of labourers in the country.

Sheela Thomas, chairman, Rubber Board, inaugurated the programme on Monday. The data bank aims at a more active involvement of these tappers in the training programmes and labour welfare schemes of the board, a release stated.

Rubber is planted in nearly 550,000 hectares in Kerala. It is estimated that out of this more than 400,000 hectares are in the yielding phase. Nearly 250,000 tappers are engaged in these plantations.

Tappers can register their names and details in the data bank through the Rubber Producers’ Societies (RPS) and field stations of the board. It is expected that the data collection would be completed within one year. This is a collaborative programme of the Rubber Production Department of the Rubber Board and the Economic Research Division of the Rubber Research Institute of India.

The rubber sector in Kerala is facing acute labour shortage. To address this issue, the board is implementing several programmes. Tappers’ training schools offers free training as well as daily stipend to persons who are desirous of undergoing training among others, the release added.