cases by family labour. With respect to poverty, people in the farming community
who are below or hovering at the poverty line may benefit from high density
rubber/banana intercropping which appears to generate significant amount of income
in low input systems (Stirling et al., 1998). Even the landless households may benefit
from intercropping through the provision of labour and/or contracting others'
immature rubber lands for intercropping (Janowski, 1997; Stirling et al., 1998).
Furthermore, the improved economic returns during the immature period of growth of
rubber may encourage farmers to replant their old rubber plantations, which could
possibly benefit the country as a whole by increasing rubber production at the
national level.