RUBBER BOARD

BACKBONE OF RUBBER CULTIVATION IN INDIA

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The Indian Rubber Board was established under the Rubber Act of 1947 to produce and market rubber in the country. The present form of 'The Rubber Board' came into existence through amendments to the Rubber Act in 1954 and further modifications made to the Rubber Act in 1960, 1982, 1994 and 2009. The activities of the Rubber Board made rubber cultivation systematic, scientific and popular as it is today. A look at the current statistics of the rubber farming industry in India gives an insight into the unparalleled growth that has taken place in the sector over the past 120 India has rubber cultivation on 8.27 hectares, with 1.32 million small plantations and 538 large plantations. Rubber cultivation employs 4.5 lakh people directly or indirectly. A well-established network of stakeholders, including growers, processors, dealers, manufacturers etc., is the backbone of this sector. India's ninety-one per cent of the rubber production comes from small holdings. Their average cultivated area is 0.57 hectares. Ninety-two per cent of our total production also comes from this smallholding sector. The systematic approach of the Rubber Board in rubber extension management at grass root level has empowered the unorganized small growers in this way. Today, Rubber Board's excellent activities in various fields like knowledge dissemination, research, training, disease control marketing services etc., have earned India a pivotal position among the global rubber-producing countries.

Extension and Development