India's Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Final Report to DFID
The goal of this DFID-funded project was to improve rural livelihoods through accelerated adoption of resource conserving technologies
Abstract
The goal of this DFID-funded project was to improve rural livelihoods through accelerated adoption of resource conserving technologies (RCTs).
This is the report of the study conducted by Banaras Hindu University (BHU).
Farmers in two villages, Bhurkura and Karhat, were assigned to one of the four socio-economic groups, i.e. Landless, Marginal, Subsistence or Food surplus/Cash cropping, depending on their landholding and perceived ability to take the risks involved in adopting new technologies.
Data collected under Output 1 indicated that all socio-economic groups have benefited from using the zero tilllage (ZT) machine. It is the cash croppers and subsistence farmers who are the main users.
Investigations of the uptake of new varieties, shows that both the availability and affordability of quality seeds is given high importance by farmers in the adoption process.
Investigations into the ways in which farmers access information, under Output 2, indicated that marginal farmers are dependent on farmer-farmer contact for information whereas subsistence and food surplus farmers have many more sources such as newspapers, radio, and direct contact with scientists. Women farmers are dependent on their families for new knowledge and information.
This study has shown that the ZT technology and replacement of varieties are spreading to villages outside the core project sites.
This report is associated with this work:
Citation
CABI-Europe, UK, 85 pp.
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