Intercropping in the Immature Phase of Natural Rubber Cultivation: Emerging Trends and Policy Challenges

Abstract

The study revealed that more than three cycles of rubber cultivation in the traditional belt (Kerala and Tamil Nadu) has lead to steady increase in the share of part-time farmers having alternate sources of income. This process of change had certain important implications on the cultivation and management of rubber and intercrops in the region. The basis and objectives of intercropping have undergone a paradigm shift from subsistence farming employing family labour to a highly organised commercial activity employing hired labour and culminating in contract farming for short term monetary gains as observed in Central Kerala. The observations emerging from the study highlight the need for appropriate institutional interventions to sustain soil fertility and rubber productivity through efficient dissemination of rubber production technologies.