The 'Rubber Plantation Ceremony' held at Rambhas Farm, HMRS, Waghai on October 19, 2023, was graced by the esteemed presence of Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor Dr. Z. P. Patel. He ceremoniously planted the first saplings of the season in the august company of the Hon’ble Executive Director of Rubber Board, Kottayam, Shri M. Vasanthagesan (IRS), along with Dr. Timur Ahlawat, Director of Research; Dr. Lalit Mahatma, Associate Director of Research; Dr. H. E. Patil, Associate Research Scientist, HMRS, Waghai; Dr. Thomson Abraham, Scientist, Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam, Kerala; Dr. Meena Singh, Scientist, Regional Rubber Research Station, Dapchari; Dr. D. K. Sharma, Research Scientist, AES, Paria and Dr. Ajay Patel, Associate Professor, CoA Waghai. The event was further graced by the presence of dedicated staff members from Hill Millets Research Station and College of Agriculture, Waghai, who also took part in the planting of rubber saplings.

On June 5, 2022, an important Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was inked between NAU, Navsari, and the Rubber Board, Kottayam, aiming to assess the feasibility of cultivating rubber crops in South Gujarat. In support of this endeavor, the Rubber Board generously provided 1200 plants to NAU, Navsari in 2022. These were strategically planted across thirteen distinct locations within NAU's jurisdiction. Impressively, the performance of these plants showed promise across all sites, with the most noteworthy results observed at Rambhas Farm, Waghai. Recognizing this success, further efforts were directed towards expanding the scale of testing at Rambhas Farm.

All the dignitaries paid a visit to the experimental plots at Rambhas Farm and appreciated the trails being carried out. The fields were well managed and the treatment differences were conspicuously visualized.