More land for rubber cultivation
A program aimed at increasing the land area for rubber cultivation
and productivity has been implemented by the Rubber Development
Department.
The demand for natural rubber has increased in the local and global
market where rubber prices have skyrocketed during the past few years.
According to the Director General of the Rubber Development
Department Wimal Rubasingha, the farsighted and prompt measures taken by
the government enabled it to arrest the downtrend in rubber cultivation.
The rubber subsidy was increased by 25 percent under the Mahinda
Chintanaya in the last budget. Accordingly, the subsidy on rubber
replanting was increased to Rs. 125,000 per Ha. The demand for rubber
replanting specially among the small rubber planters has shown a
remarkable increase, he said.
In 1981 the total rubber cultivation in Sri Lanka was 250,000
Hectares. It dropped to 115,319 Hectares in 2004 due to urbanisation and
the decline in rubber prices. Small rubber land holders and the
plantation companies changed their rubber plantations to some other high
valued plantations due to the low rubber prices in the global and local
markets which prevailed up to mid 2003. The present trend of high prices
for rubber specially for natural rubber started in mid 2003.
Rubber, a major industry in Sri Lanka makes a significant
contribution to the national economy. The industry generates many
employment opportunities to the rural population.
The Rubber Development Department is expected to implement a series
of welfare measures for rubber tappers soon. Rubber tappers are the
livewire of the rubber industry. The scarcity of rubber tappers in the
country is one of the major problems faced by small scale rubber land
holders. The rubber tappers training scheme is being implemented
islandwide and Rs. 650,000 was spent last year.
The total production of natural rubber in 2005 was 104,500 M.T. and
65 percent of it was used for end products in local industries. Only 35
percent natural rubber was exported as sheets and crepe. According to a
survey by the Department, Sri Lanka will need 120,000 M.T. of natural
rubber in 2015 for local consumption only.
Ratnapura, Kalutara, Kegalle and Galle belong to the wet zone of the
country and are considered the traditional rubber growing areas where
rubber cultivation can be expanded.
The remarkable feature of the government's rubber extension program
is the introduction of the non-traditional rubber planting areas in the
country such as Moneragala and Hambantota Districts.
Experiments which commenced in 2004 have succeeded and 920 Ha of
rubber have been planted in the Moneragala district. It is expected to
expand this up to 2,360 Ha this year. According to plantation sources
the Wellassa rubber company promoted rubber in non-traditional areas.
This is in view of the growing natural rubber requirements of the
domestic rubber industry.
Some areas of the Habantota District such as Walasmulla, Weerakatiya,
Beliatta and Katuvana are also suitable for rubber cultivation.
Ninety-nine percent of the planting materials for replanting and new
planting schemes are also supplied by the nurseries run by the Rubber
Development Department islandwide.
A twenty-five acre plot of land which belongs to the Middeniya
nursery was allocated one million rupees recently to develop the rubber
planting materials section in the nursery to implement the Hambantota
rubber planting scheme. |