Exploring relationships between rubber productivity and R&D in Malaysia

Abstract

In recent decades, the Malaysian rubber sector has developed from a supplier of raw materials to a rubber-based manufacturing industry producing export products such as gloves and tyres. In contrast, the upstream rubber sector has experienced a declining trend in both plantation area and production capacity. In 2015, almost 95% of rubber producers were smallholders who depended on plantations as their main source of income. Despite government efforts to boost growth in the industry, the area and productivity have continued to decline. This study attempts to examine the structural factors that led to a decline in rubber area and natural rubber production and proposes strategies to enhance productivity and returns for smallholders. A system dynamics approach was used to capture the feedback relationships between variables in the rubber production system as well as the temporal lags and non-linearities. The findings suggest that gradual research and development funding for development of high-yielding clones holds major promise for yield improvement and increased income for smallholders.

The competitiveness of natural rubber by exporting countries in the global market

“…Indonesia and Malaysia face the same challenge, namely the low productivity of natural rubber. This is because there are still many smallholders who use poor-yielding rubber clones which are considered easier and cheaper to use [24], [25]. The use of high-yielding clones is the main step that can be taken for Indonesia and Malaysia in order to increase the competitiveness of natural rubber commodity exports in the global market.…”

Performance and Forecast of Indonesian Rubber Exports to the Central European Countries

“…Meanwhile, Malaysia's overall consumption of natural and synthetic rubbers continues to increase. As a result, they have decreased natural rubber exports to another country while increasing imports from Thailand and Côte d'Ivoire [35].…”

Application of Optical Remote Sensing in Rubber Plantations: A Systematic Review

“…While remote sensing may be affordable and feasible for researchers, managers, and rubber organisations, a lot more thought should go into how the technology can benefit smallholder farmers, who account for more than 85% of total global production [7]. In general, smallholders have limited financial access, possess low education levels, implement poor agricultural practices and have low adoption of new agricultural technology [11,12,146,147]. Therefore, relevant rubber organisations, private or government, will need to play an effective role to ensure that the technology is accessible.…”