Financial Performance of Rubber Producer’s Societies in Kerala

The Indian Rubber Plantation sector dominated by smallholdings, accounts for almost 87% of the production. The preponderance of the small and marginal growers makes the sector vulnerable to fluctuations in price. Also they experience difficulty in gaining access to technology and information. In spite of the fact that 87% of the production is from the smallholding sector, they have very little influence on the market. The formation of small grower association under the Rubber Producer’s Societies ( RPS) has formed an important departure from the conventional system of unscientific farming operations characterized by exploitation of small and marginal farmers by the middlemen. The formation of RPS at the regional and sub regional levels since the mid 1980s has imparted dynamism in all spheres of cultivation activities among the small and marginal rubber growers in Kerala. The RPS, numbering about 2916 at present, has made a significant impact in the modernization process of the rubber holding sector