By Debasrita Mazumder Oct 22, 2022
Argartala, Oct 22 (FD) Even as Tripura became the second rubber capital of the country after Kerala covering 89000 hectares of land, the Rubber Board is facing a major challenge in improving the quality of rubber to augment production.
Mrs. Shylaja K, joint commissioner of the rubber board in an interview with firstdespatch.com said, the quality of latex of Tripura rubber is good, but quality of the product did not improve as the growers generally did not follow the scientific procedures.
She shared that the process of latex collection is much easier than rubber sheet production. Hence many prefer to stick to the easier ways. Currently, rubber sheets cost Rs 140/kg while latex costs Rs 90/L. The major gap in price is evidence enough. The major cause for decreasing price is the low quality rubber sheets. There is contamination in the manufacturing process owing to under trained workers which leads to fungal infection, improper smoking process. Hence their main challenge is to improve the quality of rubber. Yearly cyclones also affect rubber cultivation. Last year Tripura produced 93000 MT of rubber but the production is still not enough to meet the increasing demands.
While natural calamities and contaminated manufactured goods are major causes in lagging productivity, the commissioner also pointed to the lack of awareness among the people in the state. The workers need a sufficient training program to curb issues of contamination. She also shared her insights on various clone varieties of rubber that may help in producing high yield. She said that while RRII 105(clone variety of rubber) produces high yield in Kerala, the climatic conditions in Tripura do not support it. Therefore, the board is trying to promote RRII 429 among beneficiaries so as to educate the people about its benefits. The essential officers in the rubber board are working hard to convince the beneficiaries to adopt new scientific methods in the production.
The state government earlier allowed only 100000 ha to be brought under rubber plantation. In order to cope with the increasing demand and influence the productivity of rubber, additional 30000 ha of area is allowed to be brought under rubber plantation now, said Mrs. Shylaja K at the interview
She further said The Automotive Tyre manufacturers Association (ATMA) consisting of members like Apollo Tyres, Birla Tyres, Bridgestone India, Ceat, Continental India, Goodyear India, JK Tyre & Industries, Michelin, MRF, TVS Tyres and Yokohama is a funding agency that provides funds to the board to supply rubber sapling to the beneficiaries. Their intention in funding is to procure the natural rubber from the country’s production and not depend on imported rubber. Besides ATMA there are other implementing agencies like Tripura Forest Development Plantation Corporation Ltd. (TFDPC) and Tripura Rehabilitation Plantation Corporation Ltd. (TRPC), TTAADC etc helps in funding the process of breeding and maintenance of the rubber crop. 83% of the beneficiaries are tribal and these implementing agencies are working to support Tribal resettlement. Owing to abundant funding agencies, beneficiaries are required to hardly invest anything.
Overall, there are 1.15 lakh rubber beneficiaries in the state. In 2021, 2991 beneficiaries came under the ATMA scheme which the commissioner informed will be filed in records in the coming weeks. Under the scheme, the beneficiaries are allowed to plant 450 plants/ha. While there are a number of issues, the rubber industry has helped a lot in bringing consistent financial sources to the tribal community especially. The commissioner said, “Rubber helped curbing insurgency; helped the tribal community to become financially sound and educated.”
Mrs. Shylaja also educated on the correct duration and indications of a maturing rubber tree. She said that a rubber tree requires a depth of 50 cm and 125 cm height to become a fully grown plant which takes approximately 7 years. Thus the rubber board is trying to promote intercropping among the beneficiaries. The practice of intercropping is rare in Tripura hence the cash crops like pineapple, coffee along with vegetables like chili, cucumber etc are encouraged. An aromatic plant Sugandh Mantri, which is used for aromatherapy, is also cultivated through intercropping in Tripura. Approximately 5000 rubber beneficiaries are presently involved in intercropping.
She said that almost 150 colonies in Khowai are engaged in bee keeping along with rubber plantation business, which has helped in improving the economic condition of the people. Besides that, the Manimalayar rubbers Pvt. Ltd. has also helped in boosting the economy of the state by supplying saplings to the neighboring North Eastern States. FD DM JK