The role of intercropping in supporting participatory rubber replanting program

Abstract

Natural rubber is one of the important estate commodity because rubber is a source of foreign earnings in main income for millions of people. Rubber in Indonesia is dominated by smallholders (85% of total area of rubber 3.34 million hactares) and source of income for 12.5 million farmers with their families , not including absorbed labors in supporting industries. In general, the problem of smallholder rubber is small productivity. Four hundred thousand hectares of rubber is old or damaged and need to be replanted. Therefo, the effort to do participatory replanting should be encouraged and accelerated.one component in participatory replanting concept is''providing program of supporting facility for acceleration of technological adoption '',such as management of intercrops. Management of intercrops is implemented as an effort to fill lost of earnings during the imature period and improves maintenance intensity of rubber plantation. Based on the condition of the rubber canopy, intercrop is devide into: (a) Intercrop at rubber age under 3 years (canopy stil open) and (b) intercrop at rubber age over 3 years (canopy closed). Intercrop pattern for rubber under 3 years are grouped in to food and market oriented product. Food oriented crop are paddy,maize, soybean,and cow pea, while market oriented are chili, wtermelon,longbean,banana and pineapples. Intercrop for the rubber over 3 years are shade tolerant crops such as chinger,cardamom,curcuma xanthorrhiza, and turmeric/curcuma domestica val.Those intercropping patterns technically provide positive effect to rubber crop production and growth. Fertilizers application and maintenance of intercrop resulted in better growth of rubber and rubber trees are more taken care of.Other intercrop whish have god proper market prospect and suitable to the agroclimate under rubber is medical crops , such as morinda citrifolia and Aloe vera. Development and reinforcement of this supporting institute aspect is more of the programs which included in this participatory rubber replanting model