Tamil Nadu rubber growers seek aid from the state government

As rubber farming is predominant in Kerala, rubber tapping workers travel to Tamil Nadu as rubber tapping labourers. This year, the workers are unable to turn up for work due to restrictions in transport between the states owing to COVID-19 situation. Subsequently, the rubber growers are left with no income.

Tenkasi (Tamil Nadu): Rubber growers of Tenkasi earn bread from the income they get after selling rubber sheets. However, this year rubber tapping work failed to happen due to a dearth in the tapping labour. While one litre of rubber milk fetched good price last year, this year the price has been dropped and oscillated between Rs 20 and Rs 22 per litre.

Puliyarai is a village along the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border in Tenkasi. In Puliyarai rubber cultivation happens in an area of 500 acres. Rubber farming is not a lucrative one as it takes about eight years after planting a nursery to start tapping.

Being a foothill area and with the probability of the crops being damaged by wildlife being less here, local farmers show interest in rubber farming. Around 1-1.5 lakh litres of rubber milk is produced only from this region every year.

As rubber farming is predominant in Kerala, workers from Kerala come to Tamil Nadu as rubber tapping labourers. This year, the workers are unable to turn up for work due to restrictions in transport between the states owing to the COVID-19 situation. Subsequently, the rubber growers are left with no income.

Rubber milk is be extracted for six months starting in June every year. The pandemic situation has reduced the possibility of extracting the milk in the season due to lack of labour this year.

On the other hand, continuous rains are also hampering the extraction of milk.

The farmers make income out of rubber by drying the extracted milk and mixing it with acid to make rubber sheets with the help of hydraulic pressing machines. At presentation, overgrown weeds have filled the plantations as rubber tapping work did not happen this year. While the farmers already suffer from the absence of income, the maintenance expenses are also adding to their woes.

The rubber farmers request the Government of Tamil Nadu to support them in the same way the Government of Kerala does by providing its rubber farmers with subsidies, relief and equipment.