The Rubber Board carries out various development activities designed to promote expansion and modernisation of the rubber plantation industry. Until 1956, these were confined to advisory and extension services and procurement and distribution of planting materials of improved varieties. The first major development scheme to be introduced was the one to promote replanting of old and uneconomic plantations which started operation in 1957. This was followed by a host of other schemes and activities in quick succession embracing almost all the development requirements of the industry. As of now, these broadly cover technical services, supplies, new planting, replanting, productivity improvement, modernisation of processing, exploitation of large byproducts to augment plantation economy, marketing, promotion of collective self help amongst small holders, training and labour welfare. The strategy of integrating financial incentives and technical advice to $ faster and effective. The statutory provision for sourcing funds for the purpose from cess on rubber satisfies this in fair measure. Planners have had to take into account the ever-growing industrial requirements of raw material rubber in this large developing country on the one hand and the geographical and agro-climatic limitations in growing rubber on the other. The latter problem is further aggravated by the unremitting fragmentation of plantations engineered by social and economical factors.