Rubber Plantation

SCOPE FOR RUBBER PLANTATION IN ASSAM

Assam is the second largest rubber grower after Tripura in the region with about 60,000 hectares under plantation and about 26,500 hectares under tapping.The tyre manufacturers association plans to undertake rubber plantations on additional two lakh hectares of land in the region over the next five years. The announcement by the Automotive Tyre Association of India about its plan to invest Rs 1100 crore to undertake rubber plantations in the Northeast is good news for the region.A rubber tree matures in seven years and rubber can be tapped from the seventh year onwards. The tree stays productive for about 25 years. The rubber wood procured from the tree after it stops yielding also has high demand in furniture industry for its durability and attractive colour. Popularising use of rubber wood for home furnishing in India can check felling of trees in natural forests.  initiate steps to attract rubber-based industries to set up their units in collaboration with the Rubber Board and the industry bodies. The region can showcase its enhanced export advantage following access to seaports in Bangladesh facilitated by transborder connectivity projects taken up by India. A bridge over river Feni in Tripura, which is due to be inaugurated shortly, will connect Sabroom, a border town in the state with Chittagong Port in Bangladesh which is just 75 km away from the bridge. Similarly, a multimodal logistics park, the work of which is on at Jogighopa in Assam will make it possible for exporters to reach trade destinations in Bangladesh in just three hours. The new plantations to be undertaken over the next five years will be ready for tapping in seven to 12 years of time which will give sufficient time for the states in the region to draw up an elaborate road map for tapping all benefits from the rubber plantations. In Assam, according to Ministry for Commerce and Industries rubber is being cultivated currently on 60,000 hectares, with an annual production figure of around 32.000 million tons. Nearly 200,000 people are engaged in the work, which brings in Rs 430 crore as revenues.

 With the promised funds from the Centre, the decision was taken to expand existing cultivation levels to cover around 500,000 hectares in the next five. Assam government is confident that the target can be achieved.

Support needed from DoNER /State

Governments

♦  Financial support to Board for Block Planting

♦  Rubber may be considered as a priority crop for rehabilitation projects

♦  Support to NGOs and SHGs to start nurseries. This is a viable economic activity especially for Women SHGs.

♦  Policy decision for allotment of suitable land for large scale planting of rubber by Private/ Government agencies.

♦  A Nodal agency to be identified by each State Government to liaise with Rubber Board in Developmental Activities.

♦  Sanction of Central Government for posting essential staff

♦  Allotment of land for Boards research trials in the field

Hence at present there is a huge opportunity in terms of employment generation in the agricultural field and will help in the economic growth of the stat and also help in boosting the natural environment of the area.

In this context Future Valley Technologies and Services LLP in collaboration with Doya T.E. at Namtok Kongsa Village has started rubber plantation in approx. 8 hector of land. It is further planning to establish its own rubber sheet manufacturing unit. For which it will be expanding the plantation through contract farming on buy back guarantee. Future Valley will be providing the seedling and technical knowhow to the farmers. For this purpose we have already planned to set up a nursery. Future Valley is in contact with rubber board. Thus once this project gets set up the entire area will have economical development and employment generation.