Rubber Cultivation Driven Socio-Economic Development of Tribal Communities in Odisha

The present study was taken up in Mayurbhanj district in Odisha where the Rubber Board, in association with the Government of Odisha, has implemented Rubber Block Plantation Projects for the socio-economically marginalized scheduled tribes. The study found that the average annual household income of the respondent households with income from rubber was 188 per cent higher than that of households without income from rubber. The average expenditure of households for personal conveyance, education and healthcare with income from rubber was 879, 491 and 481 per cent, respectively higher than their counterparts without income from rubber. A transformation was noticed in the type of houses constructed from the traditional mud huts to pucca houses having modern amenities to enhance the standard of living, as income from rubber started to flow in. It is highly encouraging that the tribal households with income from rubber were investing the additional income earned from rubber in both physical and human capital. This can lay the foundation for a discernible change in the socio-economic status of the tribal communities and overall development of the region in the future.