Malaysia (RISDA) encourages small farmers to harvest latex for higher income

According to news from Malaysia on October 15, the Malaysian Rubber Industry Small Farmers Development Agency (RISDA) encourages small farmers to harvest more latex instead of cups to increase their income
.


RISDA Chairman Datuk Mohd Salim Mohd Shariff said that this was because the price of latex was higher, at RM 7 per kilogram, while the price of cup rubber block was RM 2.
5 per kilogram
.
The sale of latex can bring more than double the income of small rubber farmers, but we must change the production model, that is, from cups to latex
.


He said that in order to obtain more latex production, small farmers must work harder and work harder, but the advantage is that they can minimize theft cases, which usually occurs in the case of cups of glue
.
At the same time, it also requires the cooperation of all parties, especially the wishes of the small farmers themselves
.
If small farmers in certain places have demand, RISDA will establish a new latex collection station
.


So far, there are 12 latex collection stations nationwide in Malaysia, two of which are located in Kedah, namely Sik and Padang Terap, of which 8 warehouses are actively operating, including 245.
5 hectares of small rubber farms
.


  He said that the Baling area has the potential to become a major latex producer in the country because it has the largest rubber smallholder area in Peninsular Malaysia, reaching 13,988 hectares, involving 9,979 smallholders
.
If there is demand, we will set up a public latex collection station in Hualing
.


  At the same time, Mohd Salim said that RISDA will require the government to consider increasing the base price of cup gum blocks from the current 2.
5 ringgit per kilogram to 3.
5 ringgit per kilogram from January next year to increase the income of small farmers
.
If the base price of cup gum blocks is increased by 1 ringgit, the income of smallholders can be increased to 2100 to 2200 ringgits per month
.