Shoko Hikosaka

Intercropping Practices in Cacao, Rubber and Timber Plantations in West Java, Indonesia

Intercropping practices enable to increase income levels and reduce social disturbances around plantations. However, detailed aspects relating to intercropping practices in West Java have not been fully studied. The objective of the present study was to identify the characteristics of intercropping practices in cacao, rubber and two teak plantations in West Java, Indonesia. Interviews with managers and farmers revealed that plantation companies allow farmers to cultivate crops for 3-4 years after tree cutting. Therefore, farmers change lands every 3-4 years. Farmers cultivate profitable and marketable crops on intercropping lands to earn income. They earn 5772% of their income through intercropping activities. For sustainable production of cash crops over many years in intercropping, it is necessary to identify crops that fetch a high price and are tolerant to shade conditions, and to determine whether the cultivation of these crops under the mature canopy of tree crops might affect tree growth.