Yokohama Rubber helps Thai farms improve sustainability
Hiratsuka, Japan—The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. announced that, together with the Surat Thani branch of the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT), it held a seminar event for natural rubber farmers in June 2026 in the Surat Thani area of Thailand, where its natural rubber processing subsidiary, Y.T. Rubber Co., Ltd. (YTRC), is located. The purpose of the seminar was to help the farmers improve their productivity and the quality of the natural rubber they produce. Fifty farm households in the Surat Thani area participated in the seminar, which has now been held eleven times since the first one in 2020. Yokohama Rubber later provided fertilizer developed using RAOT’s expertise to the participants free of charge.
In January 2020, Yokohama Rubber signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the RAOT to cooperate in efforts to provide economic support for Thai natural rubber farmers and to improve traceability in order to ensure the transparency and soundness of the natural rubber supply chain based on Yokohama Rubber’s “Procurement Policy for Sustainable Natural Rubber.” This seminar event was part of Yokohama Rubber’s farmer-support activities under the MOU and has been held regularly in cooperation with the RAOT through Yokohama Rubber’s local subsidiary, YTRC.
During the seminar, lectures were given on nutrients in soil and plants; the proper use of fertilizers; the importance of preventing contamination of natural rubber by foreign matter; and workplace safety, health risks, quality improvement, and farm management for rubber farmers. In addition, representatives of local government agencies, the police, and a local hospital were invited as guests to give presentations on the legal framework governing the employment of foreign workers, the importance of respecting the human rights of foreign workers and ethnic minorities working on rubber plantations and coexisting harmoniously with local communities, transportation safety, and occupational health and safety to prevent accidents associated with rubber tapping.
Replies to the questionnaire passed out after the event showed that the seminar increased participants’ awareness of cultivation techniques and quality, with comments such as, “Although I had been applying fertilizer without much thought, I was able to learn a systematic approach,” and “Hearing directly from YTRC, a natural rubber processing company, helped me understand that contamination by foreign matter is a serious issue.” Replies also showed a positive attitude toward improving production management, with one participant commenting, “Until now, I had left everything up to the tapper*2, but after attending this event I plan to share the necessary knowledge and points to be aware of with them from now on.” Another participant remarked, “I was surprised and impressed to see a tire manufacturer caring for farmers like us all the way down to the local level,” demonstrating that the seminar provided an opportunity to further strengthen mutual understanding and trust between Yokohama Rubber and natural rubber farmers.
A founding member of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR), Yokohama Rubber revised its “Procurement Policy for Sustainable Natural Rubber” in September 2021 and is strengthening its collaboration with GPSNR activities. The recent seminar event in Thailand reflects the principle of “Support for suppliers, including small-scale farmers, and other parties involved in the supply chain” set forth in the Procurement Policy. Yokohama Rubber will continue to implement and announce initiatives in line with the action guidelines stipulated in this policy.
Under the sustainability slogan “Caring for the Future,” Yokohama Rubber is creating shared value by addressing social issues through its business activities.