“Rubber Farmers Should Turn to Product Manufacturing Entrepreneurship”: Rubber Board Chairman

Rubber Producers' Societies (RPSs) should pursue entrepreneurship in rubber product manufacturing with the assistance of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), according to Sawar Dhanania, Chairman of the Rubber Board.

He was speaking to rubber growers in Kottayam as part of a seminar on the 'Scope of Farmer Producer Organizations in the Rubber Sector.

The RPSs have succeeded in organising unorganised rubber farmers, and now it is critical to find a place in the product-making sector.

He believes that the entry of RPSs into product manufacturing with the assistance of FPOs is critical to the survival and sustainability of the rubber farming sector.

According to TK Jose, Chairman of the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission, who spoke at the seminar, FPOs in the natural rubber sector should look for opportunities to develop new rubber-based products and launch entrepreneurship initiatives in the non-tyre sector.

Many of the current issues will be resolved if FPOs can capitalize on the potentials of the MSME sector, he added. In the current situation, farmers cannot find solutions to their losses due to low rubber prices if they rely solely on government financial assistance.

They should use all possible income-generating sources from the rubber farming sector, said KN Raghavan, Executive Director, Rubber Board, in response to rubber farmers' questions.

For example, carbon trading and sustainability certification are new areas that can generate extra income for rubber farmers in the near future, according to Raghavan, and the Board has launched an initiative to investigate such opportunities in the rubber farming sector.