Mr. Aighobahi Eric Eghosa is the Chairman National Rubber Producer Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NARPPMAN), Edo State chapter. In this interview, he speaks about the challenges rubber farmers face and how people can venture into rubber farming.

 

What does it take to start a rubber plantation?

First of all, one needs to get land, depending on his or her capacity, because rubber farming is capital intensive. After you get the land, you prepare it and get seedlings for planting. We get seedlings from Okomu Rubber Research Institute, Estate plantation, as well as some individuals who have nurseries, but it is not cheap. A seedling costs N400, and for you to plant one hectare, you need 1500 seedlings; that’s a lot of money. You also need chemicals and fertilizers to enable you to get a better yield.

 

For a new rubber farmer, when is the planting season and spacing?

Planting of rubber is always in the wet season between April and May, and in planting, we don’t follow the standard due to lack of land for cultivation; hence, we have to minimise the available ones. But we give seven to eight metres while planting.

 

How long is the gestation period before harvesting?

Rubber is not like other crops that are done within six months, one or two years. The gestation period is a challenge, as it takes a longer period to mature, and because of this, people are moving to other crops. It takes five to six years before a farmer can start tapping and getting the reward on his investment.

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Is there a market for rubber farmers? 

There is a market for rubber in Edo State. We sell rubber in tonnes, and no matter the quantity of rubber you have, there is a market to sell it. We supply factories across the country.

 

How does the activity of middlemen affect farmers?

The middlemen go to their farms with their scales to buy from farmers, which determines the price the farmer will sell. It is sold per kilogramme and sometimes, they take advantage of farmers who are not informed in terms of price review to shortchange them. For me, I don’t deal with middlemen, I deal with the factory.

 

How would you describe rubber farming in Edo today?

Rubber farming is very lucrative, though some years back, the industry was faced with lots of challenges, as people were no longer interested, and those who had farms sold them to venture into other agricultural commodities. But presently, it is doing well. It is not like other crops that you can sell anywhere; there are designated factories where you sell your produce. Edo State is the hub of rubber in Nigeria; hence, the Rubber Research Institute was established in Edo. Today, Edo still remains the largest producer of rubber in Nigeria. Individuals and multinationals like Okumu, among others, are into rubber production.

 

What are the challenges in rubber farming in Edo State?

Lack of government attention is one of the major challenges in Edo State. Also, access to land for cultivation is not there. Many people are interested in rubber farming, but there is no land, and even the one to buy is very difficult. During former Governor Godwin Obaseki, we approached him formally for land, but it wasn’t successful. We wrote several letters, but there was no response, and that discouraged many people who wanted to go into rubber production. We are in it, and you can’t get land to buy now because communities don’t want to sell land anymore, and the only land that is available is government land. Even if the people want to lease land for cultivation, they will mention outrageous amounts that will drive you away. We are also not getting any grant to improve our farms. 

However, we learnt that in the past, the federal government gave grants to farmers, but they didn’t utilise them for rubber plantations; hence, the government stopped giving grants. It was during the administration of former President Buhari that we started getting attention through our association. 

 

Are rubber farmers benefiting from state government inputs?

Rubber farmers are not benefiting from government inputs because there was no national policy on rubber production, as in some other crops like rice, cassava. It was not listed as a crop receiving national attention. But now, through the national body of association, we have been able to fight for it to be listed as one of the crops to receive government attention, but it hasn’t started receiving attention as of today.