Land Ownership and Socio-economic Dependence on Rubber Plantations: Insights from Smallholder Farmers in Tripura, India

The rubber industry has long been important to small landholders’ livelihoods, notably in Southeast Asian countries where the bulk of the world’s rubber is produced. Rubber tree farming is a profitable activity that may offer farmers a substantial income. Tripura, a northeastern Indian state, has an agricultural economy. Rubber plantation employs over 0.1 million farmers in the state, contributing considerably to their monthly revenue. As a result, the purpose of this research is to better understand the socio-economic condition of rubber plantation farmers and their dependency on rubber plantations. The study uses 355 respondents from face-to-face surveys conducted with randomly chosen families in two rubber plantation districts, Sepahijala and Gomati. The data analysis was done by using a generalised logistic regression method. It is found that roughly 98 per cent of the tested population is economically dependent on rubber plantations. According to the survey, land size (average 2.57 acres), land ownership (80 per cent of respondents own property) and the number of labourers employed in rubber plantations (average 1.67) are all positively associated with rubber production. Furthermore, household dependency on rubber plantations is positively associated with respondents’ age (average 45.5) and adversely related to respondents’ occupation. This is due to the findings that revenue from rubber plantations is somewhat unstable due to various factors in the supply chain of rubber. The study’s findings aid in understanding the socio-economic effect of the rubber-based system and will allow policymakers to adopt intervention strategies to benefit smallholder rubber growers.