The Rubber Producers’ Societies (RPSs) should turn to entrepreneurship in rubber product making with the cooperation of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), said Sawar Dhanania, Chairman, Rubber Board.
He was addressing the rubber growers in connection with a seminar on the ‘Scope of Farmer Producer Organizations in the rubber sector at Kottayam.
The RPSs have succeeded in the collectivisation of unorganised rubber farmers and now it is a need of the hour to find a space in the product-making sector. The entry of RPSs to product manufacturing with the support of FPOs is essential for the survival and sustainability of the rubber farming sector, he said.
The FPOs in the natural rubber sector should find opportunities to develop new rubber-based products and to start initiatives for entrepreneurship in the non-tyre sector, said TK Jose, Chairman of Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission, who spoke in the seminar. If the FPOs can take the advantage of the potentials of MSME sector, many of the present issues will be solved, he added.
In the present scenario, the farmers cannot find solutions for the losses owing to the low rubber prices depending on the financial support alone from the governments. They should utilise all possible income-generating sources from the rubber farming sector itself, said KN Raghavan, Executive Director, Rubber Board, while answering the queries of rubber farmers.
The carbon trading and sustainability certification, etc are the new areas which can generate extra income for the rubber farmers in the near future and the Board has started an initiative to explore such opportunities in the rubber farming sector, Raghavan said.