In this paper we discuss rubber agroforestry in Indonesia in the context of ‘integrated natural resource management’ (van Noordwijk et al., 2001). In South East Asia rubber is mainly grown by smallholders and tapped with family labour or through a ‘share tapping’ system, which means that the sale of rubber products provide the main income for millions of poor rural families. Rubber production in Indonesia differs substantially from the pattern elsewhere in SE Asia. In Thailand and Malaysia, farmers adopted the techniques utilized in rubber estates, planting of high yielding clonal rubber, application of fertilizers and agro-products and utilization of legume cover crops. Governments provided cheap credits and encourage farmers to establish new rubber plantations. In Indonesia, a limited number of smallholders obtained government assistance through various schemes but the wide majority still continued to manage rubber in an extensive way, using the “jungle rubber approach”.
Publication year
2022
Authors
Boutin D; Wibawa G; Beukema H J; Joshi L; van Noordwijk, M.
Language
English
Keywords
rubber
