Sustainability of rubber agroforestry strategies in boosting smallholders’ resilience to cope with the realities of new global challenges

Abstract

In the face of a global pandemic, the ever-present threat of climate change and the highly unstable economic and social global systems the resource poor smallholder farmer is increasingly finding it harder to meet with the daily challenges of sustaining the livelihood of the farmer and his family. This paper is a review of the challenges of smallholder’s rubber farmers, strategies adopted to build the resilience of the farmers and technological adaptations to sustain the resilience of the smallholder’s rubber farmers in Nigeria. The work looked at the manipulation of space or spacing techniques in rubber-based agroforestry systems, mixed farming in rubber production, cropping patterns, soil nutrient and weed management methods and socioeconomic benefits to the rubber smallholders. The results indicated that RBAF systems helped resource poor rural farmers increase family food supply, improved income and reduced the gestation period of rubber leading to improved livelihood. This results will help in attracting more smallholders to rubber plantation establishment, leading to increased national rubber production for local and international markets and increase industrial development in rubber and rubber related products.