REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Following the continuous decline of world rubber prices, Agriculture Ministry asked rubber farmers to anticipate it by applying intercropping systems.

Small scale rubber farmers in Indonesia, who can apply the system, dominate the sector by 95 percent.

"Intercropping system could be done with other food crops such as corn and soybeans. So when prices fall, farmers could get profit from food crops of intercropping," said Secretary of Directorate General of Plantation, Irmijati R Nurbahar on Friday, June 5.

Agriculture Ministry will carry out the re-planting of the public rubber plantation considering that most of tree ages aged more than 30 years. It caused a decrease in productivity of the national rubber latex.

In addition, reduction of rubber exports in raw form will also be carried out. Of the production total of national raw rubber per year reached 31 million tons, only 20 percent absorbed for domestic needs, the rest was exported.

As is known, the world rubber prices continued to fall due to excess production of a number of world rubber producing countries. Based on data from Futures Exchange Supervisory Board (Bappebti), raw rubber prices in the domestic market were 20,964 IDR / kg. In fact, compared to 2011, raw rubber prices reached to 4.6 US dollars per kilogram, or equivalent to 59,800 IDR per kilogram.

Meanwhile, Head of Plantation Department of South Sumatra Fakhrurrazi asked the government to pay attention to the rubber farmers, so their business not eroded by dominance of large-scale rubber entrepreneurs, especially, in the middle of the fall in rubber prices.

"Farmers need to be given incentives and support for venture capital," he said.

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