The discovery of Knuth Mull (Hevea brasiliensis)
which arrived Nigeria from Kew garden in England in about
1895, which has better yield (3600 kg/ha/yr) and easy/quick
bark regeneration after tapping (Ogowewo, 1989), renewed
farmer’s interest in the cultivation of natural rubber to the
extent that before the discovery of crude oil in commercial
quantity in Nigeria, natural rubber production ranked sixth
among the economic cash crops in the country. The
production trend however, experienced a staggered
movement over the past 40 years. The situation became
worse between 1980s and 1990s when Federal government
of Nigeria shifted her emphasis for the nation’s economic
drive from agriculture to crude oil (Oyedipe, 2001). The
repercussion of the government decision was not palatable