Rubber agroforests' profitability, the importance of secondary products

Lehébel-Péron, A., Feintrenie, L., Levang, P. 2011. Rubber agroforests' profitability, the importance of secondary products . Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 20 :69–84. ISSN: 1472-8028.

Indonesian rubber agroforests – smallholders’ plantations combining a large number of perennialspecies – are known to provide a number of environmental services. They produce natural rubber as well as various secondary products for cash or home consumption. We estimated the quantities of the various products, the proportions harvested, consumed by the farmer’s family or sold, and the cash income generated. Quantities and prices were estimated based on plot surveys and interviews. Economic models of various kinds of agroforest were generated, and the impact of the tree composition on the income was evaluated based on these models. Results show that agroforest products are quite well valued, but that return to land remains low. An enrichment of agroforests in Parkia speciosa Hassk could improve their productivity and help farmers cope with economic crises