TY - JOUR
T1 - Small-Scale Rubber Planting for Enhancement of People's Livelihoods
T2 - A Comparative Study in Three South Asian Countries
AU - Nath, Tapan Kumar
AU - Inoue, Makoto
AU - De Zoysa, Mangala
N1 - Funding Information:
Received 18 April 2011; accepted 31 July 2012. Fieldwork for this research was supported by a research grant from the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) while the first author was a postdoctoral fellow (2007–2009) at the University of Tokyo, Japan, and awarded by JSPS. Address correspondence to Tapan Kumar Nath, Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chittagong, Bangladesh. E-mail: tapankumarn@yahoo.com
PY - 2013/9
Y1 - 2013/9
N2 - South Asian upland cultivators are transitioning from subsistence production to commercial production using mainly small-scale rubber cultivation, which helps this transition and reduces poverty. This study, conducted October 2007 through February 2009, examines how small-scale rubber planting enhances people's livelihoods. Data were gathered from Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. We found differences in rubber tree stock, growth, management, and livelihood impact. Plantations in India and Sri Lanka were doing well, while Bangladesh tree stock was low. Strong institutional support, proper silvicultural practices, funding for plantation maintenance, and participant awareness of benefits contributed to satisfactory plantation conditions in India and Sri Lanka, where participants realized good earnings from tapping, while Bangladeshi participants earned little. Because monoculture rubber plantations present risks, participants should practice mixed cropping. Rubber agroforestry can be the best alternative to monoculture rubber plantations because it reconciles economic and sustainable uses of natural resources, and biodiversity conservation.
AB - South Asian upland cultivators are transitioning from subsistence production to commercial production using mainly small-scale rubber cultivation, which helps this transition and reduces poverty. This study, conducted October 2007 through February 2009, examines how small-scale rubber planting enhances people's livelihoods. Data were gathered from Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. We found differences in rubber tree stock, growth, management, and livelihood impact. Plantations in India and Sri Lanka were doing well, while Bangladesh tree stock was low. Strong institutional support, proper silvicultural practices, funding for plantation maintenance, and participant awareness of benefits contributed to satisfactory plantation conditions in India and Sri Lanka, where participants realized good earnings from tapping, while Bangladeshi participants earned little. Because monoculture rubber plantations present risks, participants should practice mixed cropping. Rubber agroforestry can be the best alternative to monoculture rubber plantations because it reconciles economic and sustainable uses of natural resources, and biodiversity conservation.
KW - South Asia
KW - livelihood
KW - rubber agroforestry
KW - rubber plantations
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U2 - 10.1080/08941920.2013.779342
DO - 10.1080/08941920.2013.779342
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84882246337
VL - 26
SP - 1066
EP - 1081
JO - Society and Natural Resources
JF - Society and Natural Resources
SN - 0894-1920
IS - 9
ER -