Overview of the Plantation

Production Management Planning

Rubber plantations demand significant amounts of resources, funding and

management skills to operate viably. The condition of the crops as well as the
knowledge, skills and attitude of personnel also plays critical role in the success
of the enterprise and must be looked after. Management entails detailed
planning and careful execution to ensure that plantation assets are properly
managed and sustained.

The steps contained in this chapter provide an overview of production

management planning in rubber plantations to help situate different aspects of
operations.

The steps involve in production planning are as follows:

1. Establishing Crop and Yield Profile of the Productive Blocks

This activity gathers and consolidates data about the total crop stand per
block, age of the trees, type of clones planted, historical yield records,
tapping systems and other information that provides management a
complete picture of the productive areas of the plantation.

The inventory and assessment of the trees stand covering old and new
areas will allow management to plan and implement appropriate tapping
systems that correspond to the age of trees, tappability, and productive
capacities of the block.

2. Formulating Appropriate Tapping Systems for Implementation

After conducting the inventory and evaluation of the crops using the above
parameters, management should be able to calculate and decide on the
type of tapping systems to be adopted that will provide optimum yields to
the plantation.

Determining the tapping system for each block or clone group will cover
determination of: the frequency of tapping, number of cuts per tree, the
length of cut, stimulation practices (if applicable) and others. Establishing
the tapping system (s) for the entire productive area will help management
formulate a yield forecast for whole plantation.

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 Overview of the Plantation
Production Management Planning

3. Establishing Crop Estimates and Tapper Requirements

3.1 New areas may require specific tapping systems different from the old
ones. This will have direct bearing on crop yield per hectare and labor
requirement of the operation. Projecting yields for the new areas may
also include past records of specific clones, and available secondary
data from neighboring plantations that adopted similar practices. In the
case of rubber planted under the CAP-PBD Rubber Replanting
Program, yields may be based on standard projected yields (see Table
4 in Chapter 5) for mixed high-yielding clones that were planted and
maintained according to specifications.

Based on the crop stand and tapping systems to be adopted,

management should establish the tapper requirements for the area.
This is done by computing the required task size per tapper, frequency
of tapping and the number of tappable trees per hectare. Yield
projections and tapper requirements are vital components in
projecting incomes and cost estimates for the operation.

The key to this exercise is to enable management organize an

effective tapping structure that is lean and cost efficient to optimize
productivity.

3.2 Next, management must conduct an inventory of skilled tappers

available in the cooperative. This will help determine if there is a need
to train new tappers once a specific tapping system is employed.

3.3 Finally, the tapping force is organized based on the specific requirement
of the crop and tapping systems adopted (e.g. d/3 or d/4). Support
personnel should also be organized around this requirement using
appropriate ratios (e.g. number of tappers per capataz).

At the end of this exercise the manager should be able to determine

the optimum organization and deployment for tapping and number of
workers required over the period of the production plan.

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 Overview of the Plantation
Production Management Planning

4. Formulating the Operations Plan

4.1 After having drawn the necessary data and information about potential
crop yields, appropriate tapping systems to be adopted, estimating
workers requirement in tapping and others, management can now
proceed with consolidating the plan for the tapping operation.
Appropriate financial runs may be conducted to determine the financial
returns and cost-efficiency and effectiveness of the plan.

4.2 Corollary to this exercise, management should also draw up an

appropriate field maintenance program ( e.g. weeding, fertilizing, road
maintenance, drainage repair, pests and diseases control, etc.) to
complement the tapping operations needed to meet the agronomic
requirement of the crops. This should be included in the financial runs
and final budget.

5. Establishment of Appropriate Policies, Duties and Functions

5.1 From the production plan, the next step will be to derive and establish
policies and procedures covering the working systems to be followed.
These will include policies and procedures governing the tapping and
collection system, quality inspection and rewards/sanctions system,
collecting and transporting systems and others.

5.1.1 Appropriate working policies should be set in place to establish

system controls in the operation. In tapping, this will cover
appropriate policies and implementing mechanisms for specific
tapping practices, rules and procedures, quality standards, and
others.

5.1.2 As motivational tools, reward system should be developed and

promoted to recognize good performers. This is beneficial to
the workers and organization. Sanctions and penalty
mechanisms should also be in place for repeat offenders to
prevent possible further losses or damages to the cooperative.
This will also promote order and fairness to the other members
of the organization.

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 Overview of the Plantation
Production Management Planning

5.1.3 Policies set in place should be enforced. In tapping for

instance, aside from the daily routine inspections by capataz, a
monthly quality inspection activity will be conducted by a
Tapping Inspector to evaluate individual tapper performance.
This will ensure that they do not violate tapping rules and
regulations which may be deleterious to the crops and the
cooperative operation as a whole.

5.2 Next, the specific duties, responsibilities and functions of management,

supervisory personnel and tappers consistent with the working policies
set in place should be defined. This will give all personnel clear
directions and understanding of their specific roles and accountabilities.

6. Planning Complementary Programs and Policies : Skills Training

and Enhancement

6.1 As noted in 3.2 above, an inventory and assessment of existing skills of

the tapping force and supervisory personnel involved in production will
help management determine the extent of trainings required to meet the
desired tapping and supervisory force. In case there is an insufficiency
of skilled tappers and supervisors, appropriate training programs should
be conducted prior to field assignments. This is to ensure that crops are
safeguarded from possible injury brought about by lack of training and
understanding of crop agronomy. Supervisory personnel should also be
equipped to handle management functions.

6.2 For skilled applicants from outside the plantation, a selection process
and separate policies may be developed by the cooperative to screen
potential skilled tappers. This will shorten the training process of training
and would reduce cost.

7. Proper Crop Care and Maintenance

Rubber trees are the second biggest asset of the plantation and the
primary source of plantation revenue, hence, care and maintenance of the
crop should be of utmost concern. Crop maintenance activities such as:
fertilizing, weeding, pests and diseases control, stimulation practices, and
field upkeep like road maintenance, terracing, drainage improvement and
others, should be carefully planned out and a work program and budget
integrated into the production plan.
8. Monitoring and Assessment of Plans and Field Performances

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 Overview of the Plantation
Production Management Planning

Monitoring and evaluation tools should be developed to assist management

in the decision making processes. In tapping for example, performances
are evaluated in two general categories: crop performance and tappers
performance.

Crop performances are evaluated in terms of crops condition and yield

outputs in relations to standards, maintenance practices and tapping
systems adopted. These data are validated and recorded in a record book
and block history form for analysis. The data is important to Production
Managers, because they provide information that can allow for a yield
forecast and block performance, adjustments to specific tapping systems
and isolate and diagnose specific problems that may occur in the area.

Tappers performances are evaluated based on the monthly inspections

activity conducted by the tapping inspector. The process will cover tree
inspections to evaluate individual tapping skills in relation to approved
tapping practices and quality standards. Comparative analysis of individual
yield record of tappers against targets are also conducted. This information
is essential in order to improve tapping performance, and to monitor the
health and condition of trees to institute timely and appropriate actions.

Inspection and Monitoring systems provide the basis to evaluate specific

block and tappers’ performance in the field in relation to production targets
and farming systems adopted. These will provide management important
inputs necessary in the formulation of alternative plans for future tapping
operation. Field adjustment to conform to specific crop requirement and
yields could be developed basing on the evaluation results.

9. Evaluation of the Production Plan

At the end of the calendar period, plantation management should evaluate

the overall performance of the operation to determine the viability and
sustainability of the plan.

Evaluation and re-planning should include all important elements that

influences business viability like: market prices, actual crop harvest vs.
yield forecasts, tapping systems, availability of tappers to meet the changes
required, support personnel and facilities, rolling equipment, logistical
support and funding requirement.

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 Overview of the Plantation
Production Management Planning

The succeeding two chapters discuss respectively, guidelines on assessing

the field stand and organizing production management. This is followed by
guidelines and procedures covering various aspects of tapping operations.

To prepare annual and long term production and field maintenance plans,
establish operating procedures and policies and set-up the management
and supervisory structure, the planner should refer to each chapter which
details and discusses different aspects of operations.

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