Government negligence and revenue loss are being bemoaned by rubber farmers

The Iwot brothers, Saviour and Solomon, succeeded their 82-year-old father, James, as the heads of the family rubber plantation.

Just like their father before them, these two brothers—one in his 50s and the other in his 40s—are deeply involved in the rubber business. However, they have diversified into other minor businesses because rubber does not provide a steady stream of revenue.

According to reports, their dad is the longest-lived and most-seasoned rubber grower in Cross River State.

He trained all of his children and built his house out of natural rubber, which made him famous and wealthy.

Now that he’s getting on in years, he lets his sons run the business and seldom visits the farms to tend to the plantings.

While Saviour has gone on to manage a farm, Solomon, the younger brother, is now the secretary of the Natural Rubber Producers, Processors and Marketing Association of Nigeria (NARPPMAN) in Cross River.

Although their family’s plantations in Odukpani LGA are among the state’s oldest, they have struggled to grow beyond their current modest holdings.

“Rubber is one product that can bolster the economies of both the state and the country,” Saviour told DAILY POST. However, it is imperative that the government recognize rubber as yet another treasure trove, similar to how it supported government operations from the 1960s to the mid-80s.

“In order to help farmers in the state grow new plantations, we are requesting that the government allocate 100 hectares of land to us.”

He pleaded with the authorities to consider rubber as a surefire substitute, saying that most farmers in the state were having trouble maintaining their fields.

He demanded the establishment of numerous more factories in close proximity to raw material bases, citing the inconvenient location of the state’s sole rubber processing plant.

There is just one rubber processing factory in the entire state, and getting to Biakpan is no picnic. As a result, many farmers are now subject to the stress and financial burden of traveling to Edo State to have their rubber crumbs processed. With such enormous costs, how many of our farmers can actually afford it? He asked.

The quality of the rubber from our plantations in the state cannot compete with that from neighboring countries, Solomon told our correspondent, confirming his earlier statement.

This is due to the fact that the majority of our plantations were farmed in the 1970s, long after their optimal harvesting years had passed. Clone crops are expensive on the global market, therefore our farmers can’t afford to buy low-quality ones.

Specifically, he asked that the state allocate more funds for rubber production in 2024 and that the government release a policy statement outlining plans to cultivate the commodity on a minimum of 100,000 ha of land.

When asked about the challenges of growing rubber, they indicated it was more labor-intensive than growing income crops like cocoa or cassava, which do not require as much time to bear fruit.

According to Otobong Etuk, assistant manager at Enghuart Industries, who spoke with DAILY POST about the state’s rubber production issues, the government has not provided adequate support to the sub-sector.

Creditors and government officials aren’t very enthusiastic about rubber development because of the lengthy time it takes before tapping, processing, and selling. Consequently, rubber is disregarded despite its numerous advantages.

Because they are both scarce and prohibitively expensive, fertilizers pose a difficulty for us. Additionally, the sector does not recruit personnel due to the problems it faces.

Low wages deter many people from working in the rubber farming industry, according to Mr. Philip Okam, manager for nursery development at Enghuart and an experienced rubber farmer. Okam also brought up the issue of a lack of labor.

Patrick Essien, development manager at Pamol and another authority, said that the country’s policymakers were to responsible for the problems that prevented the rubber industry from expanding.

To improve agriculture and other industries, he said, specialists should have a chance to help formulate sound policies.

Nevertheless, Bassey Okon, general manager of Pamol Nigeria Ltd., made the comment that the nation is fortunate to have excellent soil for growing rubber while discussing the advantages that the state and county can reap from the commodity.

Okon urged policymakers to prioritize rubber production since it has the potential to increase employment and bring in substantial revenue through carbon credits.

Planting rubber trees opens up a lot of job options. Even though climate change has been a topic of conversation recently, the nation can still benefit from rubber exports and earn carbon credits.

In an interview with DAILY POST, he explained that the worldwide community offers substantial financial incentives for growing rubber trees, as the product is a significant tree crop.

Natural rubber has the potential to bring in as much as N200 billion annually for the state, according to Mr. Umo Inameti, chairman of NARPPMAN in the state.

In order to boost the economy and lower unemployment, Inameti emphasized that the federal and state governments should pay proper attention to rubber.

During a meeting with Johnson Ebokpo, the state’s commissioner for crops and irrigation development, Inameti made the following statement: “If we are able to do 50,000 hectares in the next few years, we will drastically reduce rural-urban migration and we will be making about N200 billion direct income to our primary industries annually, not to talk about the by-products.” He was pleading with the government to recognize rubber.

He claims that the state’s focus has shifted away from rubber, its primary industry in the past, due to the oil boom.

“Cross River relied significantly on rubber, but unfortunately, the state is currently facing a shortage of prime producing rubber acreage of up to 10,000 hectares as a result of the oil boom,” Inameti stated.

Mr. Usen Umoh, NARPMAN’s National Vice President for the South-South Region, has advocated for the expansion of the rubber industry in the state.

He let it slip that the South of the nation was home to extensive plantations, but that they required heavy hand from the government.

The state’s N30 billion commercial agric development fund, dubbed “Project Grow,” was revealed by Governor Bassey Otu last week at the conclusion of his cabinet meeting. According to DAILY POST, the fund’s stated goal is to strengthen rubber and other sub-sectors.

He boasted that this was the government’s biggest initiative to date to increase agricultural output throughout the year.

State government officials are keen on increasing domestic processing of natural rubber, according to Johnson Ebokpo, commissioner of agriculture and irrigation.

It was revealed that Governor Bassey Otu had issued an order for the efficient development and processing of the state’s agricultural commodities, including oil palm, cocoa, rice, cassava, and natural rubber.

In order to create a policy statement that clarifies the whole rubber value chain, we will meet with all of the participants.

“We don’t have a choice; the evacuation of some of our produce will make our seaport work and boost our economy,” he said, emphasizing that the administration is taking agriculture seriously.