Higher aid for rubber plantations

In an effort to boost the area under cash crop cultivation, the government has raised funding for the Sustainable and Inclusive Development of Natural Rubber Sector by 23% to Rs 708.7 crore for the next two fiscal years.

The Rubber Board is in charge of the program, which runs concurrently with the terms of the 15th Finance Commission’s grant. Both new planting and the replanting of existing plantations are subsidized by it. The initiative now has a five-year allocation of Rs 999.86 crore due to the increase.

According to Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, the monies would be utilized to promote rubber plantations, the creation of planting materials, productivity development, the establishment of producers associations, research, and training related to rubber.

Because the nation is mostly dependent on imports to satisfy demand, the government seeks to enhance domestic production of rubber. The amount of natural rubber produced locally is just 8.39 lakh tonnes, compared to a requirement of 13.5 lakh tonnes.

With an investment of Rs 43.50 crore, 12,000 acres of traditional regions would be planted with rubber in 2024–25 and 2025–26 to assist the rubber sector. The tariff of support has been raised from the previous Rs 25,000 per ha to Rs 40,000 per ha for this reason. Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu are the traditional growing regions for rubber.

This will offer farmers more motivation to produce rubber and help offset the higher cost of production. In non-traditional areas, 3752 hectares would be planted with rubber at a cost of Rs 18.76 crore during the same time frame. Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and the northeastern states are non-traditional rubber-producing regions.

The Rubber Board would provide planting supplies valued at Rs 50,000 per hectare. This will be in addition to the plantation being developed in the Northeast as part of the INROAD project. SC producers in non-traditional locations would get planting support at a rate of Rs 2,00,000 per hectare.

The Board will encourage sponsored nurseries in unconventional locations to provide high-quality planting material (new component). Assistance for 20 of these nurseries would be given at a cost of Rs 2,50,000.

According to Bhatia, funding for rubber research has been allocated for the next two years at a cost of Rs 29 crore.

Rubber Producers Societies (RPS) forums for smallholder rubber growers are another benefit of the program. About 250 new RPSs will be formed with help over the course of the next two years. In non-traditional and northeastern areas, there will be assistance for the formation of additional 1450 farmer clusters. Producer organizations will also get equipment assistance.

With an estimated cost of Rs 5.25 crore over the next two years, the establishment of three nodal centers for the National Institute of Rubber Training (NIRT) in the Northeast region—Agartala, Guwahati, and Nagaland—has been planned.