Kochi 27 July (Commodities Control) Rubber Board is conducting the first ever nationwide census on natural rubber in order to prepare a detailed data base on rubber cultivation in India. The census to be conducted by using a mobile application, will begin with the data collection in Kottayam district, of Kerala, the main planted area in the country. The board has recently launched the mobile app, 'RUBAC' for conducting the survey.
Kerala accounts for roughly 70 per cent of total rubber area in the country, of which, Kottayam district shares about one-fifth of the area. The field enumeration is proposed to be carried out by employing competent unemployed persons, with the help of various Rubber Producing Societies (RPSs). The survey will be carried out with, ‘RUBAC’, developed in association with the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Kerala.
The main objective of the survey is ascertaining the actual area of rubber plantation, new-planted area, re-planted area, the age profile of trees, productivity, rain guarding, discarded area over the years, level of adoption of new clones, size of holdings and details of tappers.
Such details are essential for the formulation of any developmental project on rubber industry as the government introduces several schemes which directly benefit the rubber growers. Hence, census is essential to create a data base of rubber growers and tappers engaged.
Rubber Board executive director Dr K. N Raghavan launched the mobile app ‘RUBAC’ for rubber census in a function held at the Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII).
He also launched the Landslide Zonation Map of rubber plantations delineating rubber plantations into low, medium and high landslide risk categories.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau: +91-22-40015505)