Factors Affecting the Adoption of System of RiceIntensification in Tripura: A Logit Analysis

Abstract

A field study was conducted in Tripura, a northeastern state of India during the winter season (2016–17) to identify the factors affecting the adoption of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI)in rice cultivation. The data were collected from 120 farmers were selected using multistage random sampling technique. A logit regression model was used to identify the factors and simple ranking techniques to rank the problems in adoption of SRI method. The results indicated that factors like literacy level and extension contact helped in the adoption of SRI. Though the coefficients associated with the age of respondents and landholdings were negative, none of them found significant. The constraints encountered by the respondents were unavailability of skilled labours (mean score 64.32), high cost of labour (61.11), high cost of paddy seed (58.40), non-availability of seeds of different varieties in proper time (57.76), difficulties in handling very young seedling for transplanting (55.32) and non-availability of inputs at proper time (53.16). The cultivation of rice with the SRI method ensured a higher yield than the conventional method. This calls for the removal of constraints impeding the adopting proper strategies like suitable training and demonstration programmes, subsidy on inputs as well as machinery, etc. This, in turn, would encourage the farmers for extensive adoption of SRI in rice cultivation.