The introduction of contract tapping and a new mode of measurement known as the K-factor or the correction factor, which measures the weight of rubber dispatched from the field, has become a contentious issue at the Firestone Rubber Plantation.
Harbel, Margibi County, August 1: - Contract tappers with little or no knowledge of how the new measurement process works have complained of cheating. They say the measurement significantly reduces their earnings.
In his complaint before the Legislature in June, Margibi County District #2 Representative Iva K. Jones, among several other allegations, echoed the contract tappers' sentiment before his colleagues at the House of Representatives. He complained that the new mode of measurement was depriving contractor employees of their actual earnings due to the calculation of latex through the correction factor.
The contending issue revolves around the difference between the latex's weight measured in the field and the final weight recorded at the factory.
Contract tappers argued that the K-Factor results negatively impact their total earning due to a reduction in the weight of latex by the time it reaches the factory for processing. This, they decried as unfair and shortchanges them of their livelihoods.
Mr. David Kollie, an employee of contractors on Division 39, told our team of investigators during a tour of the Firestone Liberia Rubber farm that they have no idea what the K-Factor is.
"We don't have the idea for the K-Factor," Kollie, 38, said, gesturing his hands. Sometimes, when I work, I can get 5000 pounds, but when they go to the weighing the next day, the quantity can reduce." Kollie explained.
Kollie lamented that due to this calculation mode, after government taxes and social security funds are deducted, he sometimes ends up with US360 or more, depending on the quantity of rubber he produced during the period.
"The correction factor, or K-factor, is an industry-standard used worldwide and is calculated by dividing the weight of the rubber received at the factory by the weight of the rubber dispatched from the field," explained Mr. Seamus Gunton, General Manager of Firestone Liberia. He said the difference is due to the coagulation process.
During coagulation, Water drains out of the latex as the coagulum hardens. The corresponding K-factor is then multiplied against a tapper's field or 'wet' weight to calculate the net weight of the rubber delivered.
As explained by Mr. Gunton, the process sounds too sophisticated for Kollie and his likes, who are either entirely illiterate or semi-illiterate.
Kollie believes that when he tapped after four hours, all the water should have drained out of the latex, and therefore, the calculations made after that time should be the final tally.
Kollie blames the management for the lack of understanding surrounding the K-factor, saying, "Management has not been able to explain this K-Factor to us."
Tapping into the future
The Firestone Rubber Plantation or Farm is divided into 44 Divisions, each around 2,500 acres. The Divisions are under a replanting cycle that includes 7 years of growth after planting, followed by 24 to 27 years of tapping.
According to Mr. Gunton, the company plants one division per year to ensure that its annual latex volumes remain stable in the long term. Around 75 percent of the farm's plantable land is used for production. The remaining land is planted with young trees or waiting to be felled and replanted.
Mr. Gunton said the company has been digitizing its operations and supply chain. "We use PDA tablets to biometrically identify each tapper, link their 'wet' weight production to a digital Bluetooth-enabled scale, and digitally track the movement of the rubber from the field to the factory. Not only does the system provide traceability to our customers, but we can provide each tapper with digital records on the K-factor calculation," he added.
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Contract tappers on the farm are assigned 600 trees a day to tap, including tappable and untappable trees.
The company says it has no plans to expand its planting operations beyond the current Concession Area of 118,990 acres, which has remained unchanged for over 50 years. Instead, Gunton said they are focused on developing the smallholder farmer sector.
"We have over 10,000 registered farmers and have recruited an extension team to secure a transparent and traceable supply chain. In 2022, we purchased 76 million pounds from smallholder farmers. However, in 2023, we could only source 35 million pounds due to the increase in cross-border trade. As a result, we support the continuation of Executive Order 124, which bans the export of unprocessed rubber and aims to keep jobs, tax payments, and investors within Liberia," he said.- writes Othello B. Garblah
