A Novel Adoption Index of Selected Agricultural Technologies: Linkages with Infrastructure and Productivity

Abstract

Variations in agricultural productivity in different states across the country are mainly due to large differences in the level of adoption of selected agricultural technologies and the underlying determinants of adoption of these technologies. Agricultural technologies selected in this paper include high-yielding varieties of seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, use of machinery, etc. The pattern of adoption has been examined across the country based on the 54th round of NSSO dataset. The quantification of adoption has been carried out for each state in the form of a novel ‘adoption index’. The relation between adoption index and status of the infrastructure in the corresponding state has been examined. The strong correlation between adoption index and composite index of infrastructure and development has emphasized the need for improving infrastructure to increase adoption of improved agricultural technologies, which would increase the value of per hectare crop productivity. The functional analysis has revealed that infrastructures like electricity, irrigation, credit and extension organizations positively influence the adoption of the improved technologies. The study has suggested that there is a need to formulate policies which would help increase the availability of electricity, irrigation and institutional credit and improve the access to the extension organizations for the adoption of improved agricultural technologies and enhancement in productivity.