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fter the Forestry Agency in Central Sulawesi started promoting rubber trees for their economic potential, more farmers in the province started growing the trees in the area, making rubber a prime commodity in the region.

Data from the agency shows that rubber plantations in Central Sulawesi have expanded and the provincial administration estimates that rubber will become a prime commodity as farmers begin to grow rubber trees every year.

Forestry Agency head Nahardi said in Palu on Friday there were around 30,000 rubber trees in Malonas village, Donggala regency, now being tapped.

Based on Sulawesi Regional Development Agency (BRPRS) data, rubber plantations in Central Sulawesi currently cover 6,520 hectares with an annual production volume of 7,216 tons of latex.

According to Nahardi, the Forestry Agency promotes rubber plantations because of their high economic value and for the sake of forestry cover. Regarding latex prices, he said the latex market never slowed down due to consistent demand.

“In Central Sulawesi, buyers mostly go directly to farmers, thus facilitating farmers in selling their products,” he said.

Nahardi expressed the hope that more farmers would plant rubber because rubber plantations could also be used for other crops, especially side crops.

He projected that Central Sulawesi could become a potent rubber production region as more and more farmers turn to the commodity.

Nahardi said persuasion was needed to urge people to grow rubber trees because generally the people in Central Sulawesi were unfamiliar with the plant.

“Initially, it was difficult to encourage them. Some villages even refused to grow rubber. However, after neighboring villages achieved success, then they were aware of it,” he said.

However, a different story has occurred in North Morowali. Resident M. Ilham said rubber prices continued to drop in the regency.

Presently, rubber farmers sell latex to traders at around Rp 6,000 (46 US cents) per kilogram. Earlier, prices reached up to Rp 20,000 per kilogram.

The decline in rubber prices badly hit farmers because latex is a prime export commodity for farmers in the Lembo and Lemboraya districts in North Morowali.

Yus Ery, a farmer in Lembar village, Lembo district, claimed that the decline in rubber prices had led farmers to become construction workers or oil palm plantation workers with daily incomes of around Rp 70,000.

“Some farmers cultivate their rice fields and begin to grow cloves and cocoa,” he said.