By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 9: Efforts are underway to identify the owners of 38,000 hectares of mature rubber plantations belonging to smallholders in Sarawak that have been left untended, as it could increase the nation’s rubber output.
According to Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Rubiah Wang, some smallholders were no longer managing their plantations due to age, migration, or a lack of workforce to carry out tapping.
“The untapped area is about 38,000 hectares throughout Sarawak. All of them belong to smallholders. That is why we are currently looking for the owners and trying to negotiate with them,” she said at the opening ceremony of the State-level Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda) Smallholders Convention here today in a TVS report.
For owners who still intend to manage the plantations themselves, Rubiah said that Risda could assist with its programmes.
However, if some did not want to or were unable to manage them themselves, Risda Plantation Sdn Bhd could be considered to take over management of the plantations, subject to the owners’ agreement and a special agreement with them.
“If they do not want to manage them, Risda Plantation Sdn Bhd will do so. We do not want to waste existing plantations that are not being tapped. Our main objective is to increase the country’s rubber production,” she said.
She said the measure was important to ensure that mature rubber trees continued to produce yields and were not simply left unattended.
Meanwhile, the Kota Samarahan MP said that Sarawak recorded purchases of about 183 metric tonnes of rubber produce through the Main Rubber Buyer initiative implemented by Risda as of July 31 this year, accounting for the total 8,328 metric tonnes of rubber produce purchased nationwide through the programme.
She said Betong and Samarahan were among the locations that recorded the highest purchases in Sarawak, with 66.22 and 61.10 metric tonnes, respectively.
“This proves that when collection operations are carried out efficiently, and smallholders provide support, the benefits can be enjoyed collectively,” she said.
She said the Main Rubber Buyer initiative was among the efforts by her ministry and Risda to strengthen the marketing of smallholders’ rubber produce by establishing a more organised, transparent, and competitive collection and marketing system.
Through this approach, Risda not only purchases rubber produce, but also connects smallholders with a more efficient marketing ecosystem.
At the same time, she encouraged smallholders to market their produce collectively to Risda while also maintaining the quality of their plantation produce.
She said that producing high-quality produce on a large scale could help reduce costs, streamline marketing, and increase the value of produce received by smallholders.
“Risda provides collection and marketing channels, while smallholders support this by selling their produce, so that the benefits of the Main Rubber Buyer initiative can be returned to the smallholders,” she said. — DayakDaily
