Dove, M.R. (1993) Smallholder rubber and swidden agriculture in Borneo: A sustainable adaptation to the ecology and economy of the tropical forest. Economic Botany, 47 (2). pp. 136-147.
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Abstract
This paper studies the role of Para rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) cultivation in a system of swidden agriculture in Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan). Such smallholdings produce most of Indonesia's rubber, which is the country's largest agricultural generator of foreign exchange. Rubber integrates well into Bornean systems of swidden agriculture: the comparative ecology and economy of Para rubber and upland swidden rice result in minimal competition in the use of land and labour, and even in mutual enhancement, between the two systems. Rubber occupies a distinct niche in the farm economy: it meets the need for market goods, while the swiddens meet subsistence needs. The intensity of production on these smallholdings is, as a result, characteristically low (and may even vary inversely with market prices). This reflects the independence of these smallholders from external economic and political influences, which has been the key to their historical success. The special virtues of such composite systems merit greater attention by development planners
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Author Affiliation: | East-West Center, Honolulu, HI 96848, USA |
| Subjects: | Social Sciences > Agricultural Economics Crop Improvement |
| Divisions: | Other Crops |
| Depositing User: | Mr B Krishnamurthy |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Jul 2011 06:16 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Jul 2011 06:16 |
| URI: | http://eprints.icrisat.ac.in/id/eprint/2363 |
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