Prospective rubber sector is now sick

Production in the four gardens in Sylhet region is decreasing. The gardens produced around 2000 tonnes of raw rubber in the last financial year against a target of 3000 tonnes.

In the previous year, the production was around 3000 tonnes against a target of 4000 tonnes.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

The target of 3000 tonnes for the current financial year will also not be fulfilled. Production will remain 25 to 30 percent short of the target, said a official.

The production is decreasing due to lack of use of fertiliser in gardens and care, the sources claimed.

Surprisingly, fertiliser was not applied to any of the gardens in last eight years, they claimed. Produc-tion has decreased as most of the plants are now suffering badly from nutrient deficiency, they said.

An official at a garden seeking anonymity said, normally chemical fertilizer is to be applied twice a year- in April and October. But this is stopped since 1997.

Rubber plantation started in the region in 1965 when the Bhatera Rubber garden was raised.

After independence, BFIDC raised the Satgaon garden in 1971, Rupaichhara garden in 1977 and Shahjibazar garden in 1978. In phases, over 9 lakh rubber plants were planted in these gardens.

The garden authorities and BFIDC officials here blamed each other for the sorry state of gardens.

The BFIDC officials said the gardens should be maintained from their own income while the garden officials said BFIDC does not provide them with resources and logistics.

As per BFIDC arrangement, the gardens are to meet expenses from their own income.

But, due to recurring losses by the four gardens in last eight years, none of these could manage funds for buying fertiliser. A garden needs about 500 tonnes of fertiliser in a year.

BFIDC did not take any initiative to supply the fertiliser.

There are 85,00 acres of land under the four rubber gardens. Of the area, 7600 acres are under plantation. Though the gardens had minimised their losses in fiscal 2001-2002 by raising production and cutting costs, this could not be sustained, the sources said.

Earlier, the gardens in Sylhet accounted for over 50 per cent of the country's rubber production. But it declined allegedly due to mismanagement, corruption, and undue influence of labour unions, the sources said.