Source Year: 1998

The Vietnamese government plans to extend the area planted with rubber in the central region from 76 000 to 440 000 ha by the year 2005. Results from 10 years of trials show that if appropriate techniques are used, rubber can be grown profitably in the soil and pedo-climatic conditions of the central region, where conditions differ from those found in the traditional rubber-growing regions of the south> Small family farms will be developed by an agricultural diversification project based on rubber production. This project will provide technical support and the long-term credit needed for this kind of development. This project will raise living standards, replace the slash-and-burn agriculture with a more stable form of agricultural development, and contribute to reforesting the region. A research programme is planned to accompany the project and to ensure its success.