Extension and Development Strategies in Rubber – an Overview

Natural rubber (NR), regarded as nature's most versatile raw material is obtained from the latex of Hevea brasiliensis, a tree, native to the tropical rain forests of Amazon and introduced on a commercial scale to the Far East during the last century. In India, organised cultivation of rubber started in 1902 on an estate scale by European planters. This crop however came out of the bounds of the estate into the small holding sector and at present 88% of the area and production are in small holdings with an average holding size of less than 0.5 ha. India was exporting almost the entire quantity of rubber produced in the country upto 1950 and thereafter when the planned development was initiated, it not only consumed the entire rubber produced in the country but also achieved the status of a net importer, excepting for brief periods during industrial/economic recession. The importance of this strategic raw material, which finds use in about 35,000 products and is forming the basic raw material for an industry with a turnover of more than Rs.15,000 crores, is that of import substitution. This is particularly important with the demand-supply gap projected to widen in the coming years. The crop has a significant socio economic relevance as about a million growers are involved in the production of this raw material in India, besides providing about 350,000 jobs in the plantation sector and almost equal number in the industrial sector. The tree has all the attributes of a forest tree and considered as an excellent crop for eco-restoration by providing a luxuriant tree cover. It also provides scope for ancillary activities such as api-culture, extraction of oil from seeds and utilizing the timber after processing which is of matching quality with any other commercial wood. The fact that it has found great acceptance by the indigenous people (tribals) in the rehabilitation programmes strengthens its socio economic relevance.