Adoption of system of rice intensification and its impact on rice yields and household income: an analysis for India

Abstract

Natural resource management (NRM) technologies, such as the system of rice intensification (SRI) are recognized as a promising systemic approach to enhance rice production at affordable costs without harming the environment. Yet there is no consensus in the literature with respect to the factors influencing the adoption as well as the welfare outcomes of adoption. This paper identifies the factors that affect farmers’ decisions to adopt SRI in major rice producing States of India and its impact on rice yield and household income. The multinomial endogenous treatment effects model adopted in the present study analyses the factors influencing the adoption and the impact of adoption in a joint framework. Results suggest that household assets, irrigation, access to information etc. increased the likelihood of household adopting SRI whereas the size of landholding, the number of years household stayed in rice cultivation, fear of poor yield, etc. decreased the likelihood of adopting SRI. The welfare impacts of SRI adoption revealed that all combinations of SRI individually and as a group (plant management, water management and soil management) had an impact on yield. However, the impact of SRI adoption on household income was quite mixed.