Kok Lanas: 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.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Mohd Azlan stated that smallholders typically collect 20 to 50 kilograms of rubber seeds and sell them to the RISDA nursery for between RM70 and RM170. He further explained that since the Movement Control Order, rubber seeds have become scarcer and more challenging to gather. The optimal time to collect these seeds is during the dry months from July to August, as the quantity decreases and quality deteriorates during the monsoon season due to rain.

While not a primary activity, gathering rubber seeds while tapping the trees can generate additional income at RM3.50 per kilogram. However, during the monsoon season, smallholders can only collect between four to five kilograms. Community clean-up activities are often organized by smallholders to clear overgrowth in their smallholdings, facilitating the gathering of seeds.

Kelantan RISDA Nursery manager Mohd Sakri Derahman stated that 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, they are buying rubber seeds from smallholders and private plantations. Currently, RISDA requires 10 metric tonnes of rubber seeds, and efforts to procure them are being increased through targeted social media promotions.

The initiative has received positive feedback, with active participation from 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. Germinating rubber seeds takes approximately 10 months before they are ready to be planted as seedlings.