KOTTAYAM: At a time when record-high rubber prices are raising hopes of a windfall for growers, a shortage of skilled tappers threatens to leave many of them watching the boom from the sidelines.
With natural rubber prices poised to breach a historic Rs 300-per-kg mark soon, many plantations remain untapped, denying farmers the opportunity to cash in on the rally.
Now, the Rubber Board is turning to digital technology to bridge the gap between plantation owners and skilled tappers, hoping to bring idle plantations back into production.
As part of the Union government’s ‘Reforms Utsav 2026’ initiative, the Board on Tuesday organised an outreach programme on ‘Introduction of INR Konnect to Stakeholders’ at the Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII) in Kottayam. The programme was presented before the stakeholders with the objective of familiarising rubber growers, tappers, prospective plantation adopters and interested agencies with the platform.
According to Rubber Board Chairman N Hari, an estimated 1.72 lakh hectares of rubber plantations in the country remain untapped and the digital platform aimed to facilitate the takeover of such plantations, resume tapping, and restore their productivity.
“Although India has 7,56,110 hectares of rubber plantations ready for tapping, regular tapping is carried out on only 5,83,300 hectares. INR Konnect has been developed to address the problem of plantations remaining untapped due to factors such as absence of owners, shortage of tappers, low productivity, fragmentation of landholdings and fluctuations in rubber prices,” Hari said.
He pointed out that the digital platform also aimed to attract the younger generation to agricultural, particularly rubber cultivation.
Rubber Board Executive Director M Vasanthagesan said the digital platform was expected to bring about a major transformation in the production sector. INR Konnect would serve as a common platform for stakeholders in the rubber sector to connect with one another, he added.
Available as both a website and an app on the Play Store, INR Konnect connects rubber growers, tapping workers and agencies interested in taking over plantations for tapping operations. Those interested can register on the platform using their mobile phone numbers. The one-time registration fee for farmers is `100. Registration is free for tappers.