A Goal Programming Approach to Rubber Plantation Planning in Tripura and Formulation of Mathematical Model

Abstract

Rubber has been identified as one of the thrust area in Tripura. Tripura is the second largest rubber producer in the country after Kerala. The rubber tree takes around six to seven years to mature and naturally production starts after that. Rubber plantations have two distinct stages in its economic life- the immature phase and the mature phase. Growing rubber trees is a high cost and long term investment i.e. the first phase is the age of all expenses and no return. The expenditures in the rubber plantations can be classified in two broad heads- Material Cost and Labor Cost. In this study, an attempt has been taken to formulate a strategic planning using the Goal Programming approach.