Research Paper
Impact on rubber plantation during COVID-19: A study of Kottayam district
Rubber is considered the most important and useful material in the world due to its wide scope of use in our normal daily existence. Ordinary rubber comes from the milk of rubber trees. Technical rubber is made from synthetic materials. Rubber was originally called CAUCHO to imply sobbing wood. Joseph Priestly is the man behind the use of rubber. The rubber plant is a huge, fast-growing, very durable woody plant normally, filled in the tropical zone. The dominant part of India’s developing rubber land is held in a thin belt on the Western Ghats. Moderate and evenly scattered rainfall of about 2000mm and 4000mm per year, with a warm tropical temperature of about 21℃ to 35℃, a warm and humid environment, and a slightly acidic lateritic soil are excellent elements for the development of the rubber plant. Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and southern Kanara district in Karnataka is the common rubber development belts in India. From the outside, we look at Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are the three of the main leading rubber producers. Natural rubber is cultivated in 16 states in India. With over 6,00,000 hectares, Kerala tops rubber cultivation, followed by Tripura with over 85,038 hectares under plantation. Other major natural rubber producers are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and other northeastern states. Under this study, the condition of rubber plantations will be explained before and after covid-19. The study basically attempts to study and analyze the fundamental factors that influence the price of Natural rubber in India. The study was done exclusively based on secondary data. The data were analyzed using graphs, correlations, and multiple regressions. The relationship between the domestic price and the international price was analyzed using Nominal Protection Coefficient. Based on the secondary objective to study the impact of the fall in rubber prices with reference to farmers in the Kottayam district and to study the socio-economic profile of the farmers in the Kottayam district, the data was collected by conducting direct interviews scheduled through a questionnaire with the farmers in Kottayam district. The living conditions of rubber cultivators are poor. The fall in rubber prices has affected the livelihood of farmers who depend only on rubber cultivation. Many of them have taken agricultural loans from banks or other private financing companies to meet the expenses of rubber cultivation. Without a minimum profitable price and support from the government and rubber board, it will be difficult for rubber growers to continue cultivation.
Published by: Anakha A. Nair, Dr. Neeru Sidana
Author: Anakha A. Nair
Paper ID: V8I2-1341
Paper Status: published
Published: May 4, 2022
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