Rubber Revolution
New plantations are powering prosperity in parts of the Northeast

TERESA REHMAN

Young and handsome Binoy Rabha, 24, is now flooded with marriage proposals. This eligible bachelor has made his mark as a hard working and enterprising rubber planter with a bright future. He hails from a backward village Hadlapara, around 8 km from Goalpara town in Assam, from a home that boasts a motorcycle, a television and modern toilet — luxuries he could not have even imagined few years ago.

His father, a farmer, who spent his whole life in paddy cultivation could earn around Rs 10,000 per annum. But now his income from his rubber plantation in two hectares of land is over Rs 50,000 per annum. “In another three years, my income is expected to shoot up to Rs 2 lakh. I hope to get married and settle down and carry out other responsibilities,” he says.

Social changes are visible in Goalpara district of Assam with the increase in wealth. There are lots of success stories, all of them from the rubber plantations here. In fact, here, there is a considerable presence of the Garo tribe, who follow a matriarchal and matrilineal pattern. It usually happens that a boy is married off to the bride’s home as the ownership of the property rests with the female. But a subtle but important change is also taking place in this system.

Take for example the case of Sanot Sing Marak of Lamakana, 20 km from Agia in Goalpara district. His son had developed a rubber plantation in his four hectares of land. The yield has been so good that he had no alternative but to make his son stay at home and look after the plantation. He chose to bring a bride home for his enterprising son. Marak concedes that they have been forced by circumstance to deviate from our age-old customs and traditions of matriarchal society.
In fact, the ladies have taken to rubber-tapping, making it almost a family business. “Earlier, when we went to look for a bride we used to ask her if she knew how to cook and weave. But now it has become the norm to ask her if she has picked up the art of tapping rubber,” says a village elder.

Rubber, an important raw material obtained from rubber tree ‘hevea brasiliensis,’ has a lot of demand. More than 36000 articles ranging from giant truck tyres to tiny elastic bands are manufactured from rubber. In fact, an ambassador car has 300 rubber parts. The tyre-industry consumes nearly 85 percent of the natural rubber in India. The demand for rubber is increasing by the day.

Traditionally, rubber has been grown in India mainly in Kerala and adjoining districts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Owing to extreme pressure on land there, there isn’t any scope for expansion of rubber plantations. There is a large extent of land suitable for rubber cultivation in the seven Northeastern states. By 1995, the Northeastern states alone had rubber plantations spread over 39,525 hectares. 4,000 hectares of the rubber plants have reached the tapping stage and the yield has been quite satisfactory.

“Rubber can be grown easily in the Northeast as vast areas of land lie unused and the labour is cheap. Moreover, it also solves the unemployment problem in the rural areas. Unlike in tea plantations, we do not have to establish a factory here. A cooperative processing centre is adequate and the costs are minimal,” says Pranab Chandra Goswami, Development Officer, Rubber Board.

Moreover, there is a great demand for natural rubber. “Synthetic rubber is a petroluem product, expensive and not environment friendly. Aeroplane tyre-tubes use 100 percent natural rubber. Only natural rubber can withstand the stress and the strain upon landing,” says Goswami.

The rubber board, a statutory body constituted under the Rubber Act, 1947, by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has implemented several programmes for rubber plantation development in the Northeast. The first plantations, mostly confined to large estates, trial plantations were taken up by the forest and soil conservation department. However, since 1980s, small growers have been switching to rubber with some help from the Rubber Board.

In fact, Goalpara district of Assam has been one of the Board’s success stories. Out of the total 4000 hectares of rubber plantation in Assam, around 2900 hectares are in Goalpara district itself. Over 7000 familes are dependent directly or indirectly on rubber plantations and their average income is more than Rs 10 crore per annum. “When we first started off, the people were hesistant. They were reluctant to spend money even on the saplings. But the change in their attitude has been remarkable,” quips Goswami.

Subsequently, the Rubber Board reoriented its strategy to a group approach in1990-91. This proved to be more successful. Once the trees mature, the latex obtained has to be processed. Growers came together to start community processing centres. The Board provides assistance for processing and marketing, and formation of self-help groups of small growers. Apiculture will soon be introduced in the plantations. “50 percent of the honey already comes from rubber plantations,” adds Goswami.

For tribals, an integrated approach has been adopted, and a World Bank Project implemented in the period 1994-2000. A tribal development plan was implemented in Tripura covering about 4000 tribal families. These families, mostly comprising Deb Barma, Jamatiya, Reang and Chakma tribes were involved in Jhum or shifting cultivation. In a bid to settle these Jhumiya people, the Rubber Board along with the Tripura Government resorted to rubber plantations.

“Over 45 block plantations were instituted all over Tripura, some of which have already matured and are ready for tapping. The Board has formed a society among the beneficiaries. In fact, the World Bank has identified our endeavour among Asia’s best rehabilitation schemes,” says Dilip Kumar Das, Deputy Rubber Production Commissioner, Rubber Board.

A successful rubber planter, Birendra Deb Barma, President of Rangmala Block Plantation in Bishalgarh Sub-Division of West Tripura district is earning over Rs 10,000 per month. “The transformation is tremendous. Our children are now going to English medium schools, our houses have improved and few of us have debts with moneylenders. Earlier, banks hesitated to give out loans. Now we are offered loans” he says.

However, there is still room for improvement. “We need to improvise to meet the industrial needs. We produce sheet rubber but industries need block rubber. For this, we need to set up a factory to consistently produce good quality rubber. There is surplus money with plantation owners to invest in small scale industries,” says Goswami.

But the revolution has begun and it is here to stay. In fact, Paramananda Brahma of Darranggiri in Goalpara district, who used to be a school teacher takes pride in calling himself a ‘rubber planter’. With his plantation in a four-hectare land, he is earning Rs 2 lakh on an average per annum. “I bought a Maruti van recently, and my daughters have enrolled in good institutions in Guwahati. I could never have imagined doing all these with my meagre salary from my school,” he says.