Bengal tea estates try hand at rubber

The union ministry of commerce, along with some of the plantation stakeholders, has started an experimental project in North Bengal to grow rubber on tea estates.

The conversion of plantations and diversification of crops to augment income to the farmers has been in the pipeline for a long time. The conventional fact is that natural rubber grows best at altitudes of 1,000 ft and tea at over 3,000 ft and that these two cannot be intercropped.

"An experimental project is now on in North Bengal to grow rubber on tea estates. By 2007, the first latex drawn from the rubber trees would be from the tea growing north-east parts of the nation," said Jairam Ramesh, union minister of state for commerce.

"If the project turns out to be successful, meeting user's requirements and becomes viable for the investors and plantation owners, we could also be looking at meeting the rapidly increasing domestic consumption for natural rubber", he added.

Discussions are on for starting such interccropping techniques in Tripura and Assam also, the minister added.

He said he excepts such experiments to revive the ailing plantation sector which employs five million people in remote areas where alternate jobs are scarce.

India, the world's biggest producer and consumer of tea, is the fourth largest producer and consumer of natural rubber. After China, India has registered the fastest growth-rate in terms of natural rubber consumption.

On the decades-old Plantation Labour Act, he said plans are underway to amend it so that the government would be able to share the burden of social infrastructure costs borne by the industry.