Rubber Sector set to see a New Dawn through Project INROAD in Assam

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Several tyre companies have started to invest Rs 100 crore for imparting training to rubber growers and developing related infrastructures in the Northeast, including Assam, through a project dubbed INROAD. The Rubber Board of India is implementing the project ‘Indian Natural Rubber Operations for Assisted Development (INROAD) in the region.

The project will cover as many as 94 districts in the Northeast and a part of West Bengal. The project has a plantation target of 43,000 hectares of rubber in Assam.

Automotive Tyre Manufacturing Association (ATMA) chairman Arnab Banerjee has inaugurated the first model smokehouse in the Goalpara district recently and dedicated it to the Bhaishkhuli Pragatishil Mahila Samiti, a cooperative society of 65 women rubber growers. “The smokehouse will not only improve the quality of rubber sheets but also enhance the livelihood of these women growers,” Banerjee said.

Goalpara, Kamrup, Karbi Anglong, and Sribhumi (Karimganj) are the districts that produce 70 percent of the natural rubber in the state. Women growers, especially tribals, are the ones who have been making strides in rubber production in the state.

According to sources, for the project entering the fifth year, Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for improving rubber quality through skill development and advanced infrastructure in region. This Rs 100-crore allocation will support skill development and the setup of model infrastructure tailored for the Northeast.

The expansion of rubber plantations under this project in Assam and the Northeast offers a more sustainable alternative to traditional agriculture, supporting soil conservation and biodiversity while simultaneously boosting rubber production.

According to sources, INROAD, a collaboration between tyre manufacturers—Apollo Tyre, CEAT, JK Tyre, and MRF—has begun reshaping the landscape of rubber production in India, especially the Northeast. Aimed at cultivating two lakh hectares of rubber plantation across the Northeast and West Bengal, INROAD has already completed 1.25 lakh hectares of rubber plantation.

Rubber plantation in Assam at the individual level with limited resources and skill plays an important role in the rural economy of the state even though the quality of the product is not up to the mark. The market for the raw products in the state is also not adequate. However, the entry of INROAD Project will let the farmers produce quality products and sell them at remunerative prices to the companies involved.

Also Read: INROAD Project Establishes Over 1.25 Lakh Hectares of Rubber Plantations in Northeast and West Bengal

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