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Gabon is among the largest exporter of natural rubber to the local and the foreign market. World most prominent billionaires of agricultural commodities financed the growth of Gabon natural rubber. Introduction of rubber enabled the diversification of the economic sector.

The main natural rubber plantation in Gabon is the Batouri rubber firm. The first local plantation dates from World War 1, when French colonialists wanted to plant rubber to support the war. The country exports rubber worth 400 Million US dollars annually and also up to 5,000 workers have been employed in the farms tapping the unemployment rate by 20%. About 17,750 hectares of land in Gabon is rubber.

There are several varieties of rubber tree plant. They include;

• Ficus elastica-native to India and Asia. It is grown as a house plant and hence needs pruning to maintain the shape. Ficus elastica has dark green leaves, 12 inches long 6 cm wide.
• Ficus robusta
• Decora-has larger leaves, a centre vein which is red underneath and white at the top.
• Burgundy

Rubber is a tropical tree. It requires high temperature throughout the year ranging between 20-35 degrees Celsius. Rubber thrives well when the rainfall distribution is uniform throughout the year. Rubber planted along the contour lines on sloping ground. Fertilizer is put 10-15 days before planting dates. The holes should be 60 by 60 cm deep.

Gabon rubber is harvested mainly in the form of the latex from the rubber plant. The latex is a sticky, milky colloid. It is obtained by forming incisions in the bark and collecting the fluid in vessels in a process known as tapping. The latex then refined into the rubber that is ready for commercial processing. The processing carried out in Olam factory in Batouri. Mallan migrants work in the rubber plantations.

Gabon natural rubber processing involves four main steps i.e.

• Mastication-is the braking down of molecules to give an easier flow.
• Mixing-carried immediately after mastication. Mixing is whereby additives are involved.
• Shaping of the viscous mass- done by extraction and moulding.
• Curing-this is where the polymer molecules become interlinked, and the shape fixed.

Once the processing is over, the rubber is transported by the Trans-Gabon railways to the port of Libreville for export by ship.

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