The Rubber Board in India is set to release a new Indian natural rubber (NR) clone for exclusive cultivation in the country’s North East region for the first time. The NR clone, developed by the Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII) and name RRII 208, will be released during the 9th Annual Rubber Conference of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) at Guwahati in Assam, India on October 17.
The conference will be inaugurated by the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman. The Minister will also release the new clone by handing over a seedling to Atul Bora, Agricultural Minister of Assam.
For the first time in the world, a high-yielding rubber clone that is suitable for regions with low temperatures has been developed, according to RRII Director of Research, James Jacob. “The clone can resist low temperatures and diseases associated with such climatic conditions”, he said. He also addedthat research for the development of a clone for high temperature zones is currently in progress.
ANRPC is an intergovernmental organization established in 1970 and has at present 11 member countries – Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
Together, these 11 ANRPC member nations account for around 90% of global NR production and 65% of global NR consumption. The Association has been an effective forum for facilitating exchange of information, consolidation of statistics, networking and coordinated initiatives on issues confronting the NR sector.
The Session of the Assembly and meeting of Executive Committee of ANRPC are held usually once a year. Annual Rubber Conference and meetings of technical committees are also held along with this. ANRPC annual meetings are hosted by one of the member countries. India is hosting the Assembly and Annual Meetings in 2016. An Organizing Committee presided over by A. Ajith Kumar, IAS, Chairman, Rubber Board is coordinating the hosting of the ANRPC events.
The 39th Session of the ANRPC Assembly and meetings of Executive Committee Meeting and technical committees will be held from October 18 to 21, 2016.
The speakers in the Rubber Conference include Sheela Thomas, Secretary General, ANRPC; Tirthankar Patnaik, India Strategist, Asian Financial Solutions Department, Mizuho Bank Ltd, Japan; Abdul Aziz SA Kadir, Secretary General, International Rubber Research & Development Board; Salmiah Ahmad, Chief Executive Officer, International Tripartite Rubber Consortium; and Lekshmi Nair, Head of Economics & Statistics, International Rubber Study Group (IRSG), Singapore.