India: The crisis of rubber production organizations in Kerala

Source: downtoearth.org.in A rubber plantation in Kerala, India. Photo: iStock Most of India's rubber comes from smallholdings, with over 1.3 million households cultivating an average area of just 0.57 hectares. These growers face an oligopsonistic market, where around 36 major tire companies have significant influence. In this context, smallholdings often have to navigate a complex middleman ladder with overlapping market relationships, putting them at a disadvantage. To address this imbalance, the Indian Rubber Board initiated Rubber Producer Societies (RPSs) in 1986, a democratic collective model for growers to empower smallholdings through shared infrastructure, processing facilities, and group marketing. Over time, RPSs flourished, especially in Kerala. By 2000, there were 2,093 RPSs nationwide. However, the model began to stagnate thereafter. Two decades later, growth has nearly halted: around 20% of RPSs have shut down, and 35% are underperforming. The Rubber Board revoked ...