(a) On an outline map of West Africa show and name: (i) two countries important for the production of rubber (ii) one important town in the rubber producing...

Answer Details

As shown on the map above:

(b) Production of rubber

Rubber is obtained from the latex, or milky sap, of the rubber tree. Rubber trees are first planted in nurseries and later transferred to plantations at regular spacing. The trees are weeded, protected from pests and diseases, and allowed to grow for about six to eight years before tapping begins.

Tapping is usually done early in the morning, when the latex flows freely. The worker makes a shallow slanting cut in the bark of the tree with a sharp tapping knife. A small spout directs the latex into a cup fixed below the cut. The latex is allowed to drip into the cup and is later collected in buckets or pails.

The collected latex is taken to a processing shed, where chemicals such as formic acid are added to make it coagulate. The coagulated rubber is pressed or rolled into sheets to remove water. The sheets are then dried, often by smoking, graded and packed for sale to processing factories or export agents.

(c) Factors hindering large-scale rubber production in West Africa

• Long period of maturity: Rubber trees take about six to eight years before they can be tapped. Farmers therefore wait for a long time before earning income from the plantation.
• High capital requirement: Establishing a rubber plantation requires money for land clearing, seedlings, labour, fertilizers, tapping equipment, processing sheds and transport. Many farmers cannot obtain enough capital or credit.
• Pests and diseases: Diseases such as leaf blight and attacks by insects can reduce the number of healthy trees and lower latex yield. Control measures may be costly and unavailable to small-scale farmers.

Other related difficulties include poor rural roads, inadequate processing facilities, shortage of skilled tappers, fluctuating world prices for rubber and competition from synthetic rubber.