TREE CROPS II

closed

The objectives of the project are: (a) to increase the income level of smallholders living on relatively poor soils in rainfed areas by expanding rubber production; (b) to help improve the country's balance of payments by increasing rubber exports; and (c) to lay the foundation for further development of the tree crop subsector nationwide. The project includes: (a) a four-year time slice of the Office of the Rubber Replanting Aid Fund Board's program, including (i) replanting of rubber trees at a rate of about 50,000 ha p.a.; (ii) continuation and completion of replantings already started; (iii) training of staff in the cultivation of coconut and its intercrops; and (iv) provision of technical support to a pilot scheme for new rubber planting; and (b) strengthening the capabilities of the Department of Agriculture, the Land Development Department and the Office of Agricultural Economics to plan and carry out programs for rubber and coconut development, including the preparation of a tree crop subsector study.