<p>&nbsp;               <b>TABLE OF CONTENTS&nbsp;</b></p><p><br></p><p>ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................2&nbsp;</p><p>LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................................................................7&nbsp;</p><p>LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................8&nbsp;</p><p><b>

Chapter ONE

</b></p><p>INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................9&nbsp;</p><p>Aims and Objectives .......................................................................................................................11</p><p>Method and Research Design..........................................................................................................12&nbsp;</p><p>Justification of Study.......................................................................................................................13&nbsp;</p><p><b>

Chapter TWO

</b><br></p><p>2. HISTORY OF RUBBER...........................................................................................................14&nbsp;</p><p>Agriculture Sector in Nigeria .......................................................................................................16&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Importance of Agriculture in Nigeria............................................................................................18 <br></p><p> Land Use, Soils, and Land Tenure ...............................................................................................19&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Challenges Facing Agriculture in Nigeria......................................................................................21&nbsp;</p><p>Rubber ...........................................................................................................................................23&nbsp;</p><p>Botanic Description of Rubber........................................................................................................25 <br></p><p> Types of Rubber.............................................................................................................................26&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Natural Rubber ............................................................................................................................26&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Synthetic Rubber..........................................................................................................................27</p><p>&nbsp;Specifications...............................................................................................................................28&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;The Harvest of Rubber.................................................................................................................29&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Processing of Natural Rubber to Form Rubber Products...........................................................29&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Uses of Rubber...........................................................................................................................31</p><p>&nbsp;Potentials of Rubber Sustainability in Economic Development of Nigeria ..............................32&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Exportation of Rubber...............................................................................................................34&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Export Market............................................................................................................................34</p><p>&nbsp;Export Price................................................................................................................................34&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Rubber Exportation Forecasting...................................................................................................35 <br></p><p> Government Agencies in Nigeria Charged With Rubber Sustainability ......................................37&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria (RRIN).............................................................................37&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC)..........................................38&nbsp;</p><p><b>CHAPTER THREEE</b><br></p><p>3. METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................40&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Materials and Methods.................................................................................................................40 <br></p><p> Study Area ....................................................................................................................................40&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Data Collection ...............................................................................................................................41</p><p>&nbsp;Hypotheses......................................................................................................................................43&nbsp;</p><p><b>

Chapter FOUR

&nbsp;</b><br></p><p>4. DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF RESULTS....................................................................44&nbsp;</p><p>Results and Discussion ..........................................................................................................................44&nbsp; </p><p>Socio-Demographic Characteristics..........................................................................................................44</p><p>&nbsp;Farming Characteristics of Respondents Gender and Marital Status........................................................44&nbsp;</p><p>Farming Characteristics of Respondents Age ..........................................................................................44&nbsp;</p><p>Educational Attainment................................................................................................................................44&nbsp;</p><p>Primary Occupation......................................................................................................................................45 <br></p><p> Sources of Rubber Farmland.......................................................................................................................45&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Size of Rubber Holdings in Hectares........................................................................................................45&nbsp; </p><p>Sources of Financing Rubber-Farming Activities.......................................................................................46&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Major Sources of Farm Labor on Rubber Farmers ..................................................................................46</p><p>&nbsp;Membership of Farmers’/Social Organization ............................................................................................46&nbsp;</p><p>Measure of Influence of Government and Rural-Urban Migration on the Sustainability of Rubber ...........................................................................................49&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Percentage Distribution of Respondents by Stages of Adoption of Improved&nbsp;</p><p> Rubber Production Technology .......................................................................................................... 56&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Sources of Information About Rubber (Production, Market, Technological Advancement, and Access to Funds).....................................................................................................................................61</p><p><b>CHAPTER SIX</b>&nbsp;</p><p>5. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................66</p><p>&nbsp;Summary.............................................................................................................................................66</p><p>&nbsp;Conclusion .........................................................................................................................................67&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;Recommendation ..............................................................................................................................68&nbsp;</p><p>REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................................69&nbsp;</p><p>APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................................73 <br></p><p> Appendix A: Questionnaire ......................................................................................................................73&nbsp;</p><p>Appendix B: Pictures.................................................................................................................................78&nbsp;</p><p>VITA.................................................................................................................................................................81 <br></p>