Rubber tappers awarded with NVQ-3

Colombo, Feb 16 (Daily Mirror) - A total of 169 rubber harvesting assistants were awarded the NVQ-3 certificates for the first time in Sri Lanka at the Agalawatta Rubber Research Institute after two weeks of intensive training.

The National Apprenticeship Board has taken steps to provide national vocational skills certificates to rubber harvesting assistants in the rubber industry, following a request from the Ministry of Agriculture and Plantation Industries.

They were designated as Rubber Harvesting Assistants in order to protect the dignity of the rubber tapper. The Rubber Research Institute had taken steps to present the certificates to the rubber harvesting assistants wearing a graduation cloak during the presentation of the National Vocational Skills Certificates.

Addressing the event, Agriculture and Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said, "There are around 35 million rubber trees in our country. Latex is harvested only from around 17 million of them. The remaining 18 million rubber trees have not been harvested. Our country's crepe rubber is currently considered the best rubber in the world. Annually, our country receives USD 1,000 million from the export of rubber. But we have the ability to increase this amount to USD 2,000 million."

"In the lower wet zone, especially in the Kalutara district, most of the lands where rubber is cultivated do not get a proper harvest. There are several reasons for this. One is the rain experienced in this area. Another issue is the labour shortage. Because of this, new technology should be introduced to tap rubber," he said.

Therefore, the Minister requested the Rubber Research Institute to consider whether to expand rubber cultivation in these areas or not. Instead, rubber cultivation can be expanded to areas like Moneragala, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Ampara in the dry zone, he said.