Abstract
AbstractIn this article, we analyze the effects of household location and weather variability on the adoption of borewell technology along the rural–urban interface of Bangalore, India. Understanding these effects can help to design policies that ensure smallholders’ livelihoods and the functioning of ecosystems in drought‐prone areas. First, a theoretical framework was developed that conceptualizes how household location and weather can influence farmers’ adoption decisions. Then, an empirical analysis based on a primary data set collected in 2016 and 2017, covering 576 farm households, was conducted. With a semiparametric hazard rate model, determinants of the borewell adoption rate were analyzed. Different rainfall variables were included to capture the effect of changing climate conditions as well as a two‐dimensional penalized spline (P‐spline) to estimate the effects of household location. Results show that proximity to Bangalore, but also secondary towns accelerate adoption rates. In terms of weather variability, the study finds that a higher amount of total annual rainfall decelerates adoption rates, whereas higher amounts of rainfall during the southwest monsoon (the most important cropping season) accelerate adoption.
Highlights
The spread of borewell technology in India has surged since the Green Revolution in the 1970s, making India the largest groundwater user in the world (Shah, 2014)
Addressing our primary research focus, we find that the amount of rainfall affects decisions in two ways
Higher amounts of rain can lead to more successful seasons generating extra capital, which can be invested in borewells
Summary
The spread of borewell technology in India has surged since the Green Revolution in the 1970s, making India the largest groundwater user in the world (Shah, 2014). Economic development leading to higher incomes and urbanization has improved access to markets and made it more profitable to intensify agriculture This is only possible with a secure and perennial water source. Domestic production of pumps and improved drilling technologies have lowered the prices for establishing a borewell, and decreased input prices through subsidized flat rate electricity prices and increased output prices for agricultural products have lowered the relative price of groundwater irrigation (Kajisa, Palanisami and Sakurai, 2007). All those reasons contribute to India being the biggest user of groundwater globally nowadays
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