Risda Encourages Smallholders To Boost Income By Selling Fallen Rubber Seeds

KOTA BHARU, Feb 9 (Bernama) -- Fallen rubber seeds can be a lucrative source of income when gathered and sold to Rubber Industry Smallholder Development Authority (RISDA) nurseries.

For Mohd Azlan Mat Noor, a 51-year-old smallholder from Kampung Berdang, Gual Ipoh, Tanah Merah, and other smallholders like him, these rubber seeds have become a source of supplementary income.

"We usually collect 20 to 50 kg and sell them to the RISDA nursery for between RM70 and RM170," he told Bernama at the Gading Galoh RISDA nursery in Kok Lanas recently.

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Mohd Azlan explained that since the Movement Control Order, rubber seeds have become scarcer, and harder to gather. 

The ideal season to do so is during the dry months from July to August, as the quantity declines and the quality tends to deteriorate due to rain during the monsoon season.

Although not a primary activity, gathering rubber seeds while tapping the trees can generate additional income at RM3.50 per kg. 

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“During the monsoon season, we can only collect between four to five kg,” he added.

Smallholders often organise community clean-up activities to clear overgrowth in their smallholdings to facilitate gathering the seeds. 

Meanwhile, Kelantan RISDA Nursery manager Mohd Sakri Derahman said the agency encourages smallholders to sell rubber seeds to them because local seeds are of higher quality and have a better germination success rate.

“RISDA needs more than a million rubber seedlings in 2025. To meet this demand, we buy rubber seeds from smallholders and private plantations,” he said.

Currently, RISDA requires 10 metric tonnes of rubber seeds, and efforts to procure them are being ramped up through targeted social media promotions.

He said the initiative has received an encouraging response, with the active participation of smallholders in Machang, Tanah Merah, Pasir Puteh and Kuala Krai.  

The rubber seeds offered must be fresh, glossy, dense and not stored for more than one week to ensure a high germination rate.

The screening process involves soaking the seeds in water: those that sink are fresh, while those that float are dry and of poor quality.

“The process of germinating rubber seeds takes approximately 10 months before they are ready to be planted as seedlings," he said.

-- BERNAMA