The Notion of Social Capital and its Value in Promoting Acceptance of Biotech Crops

Abstract

A social capital orientation in agricultural extension can help to transform passive populations into active citizens through the adoption of a balanced approach, influencing the ability of individuals and groups to cooperate in taking advantage of emerging opportunities and synergies. This paper analyses the existing social capital status in three villages in the Bangalore rural district of Karnataka state in India, as a prerequisite for developing and initiating biotechnology interventions in the form of GM crops for combating micronutrient malnutrition. An ‘ex-post-facto cause to effect’ design was used, and a rural appraisal ascertained that the levels of malnutrition and vulnerability were significant in these villages. The majority of farmers surveyed exhibited a medium level of social capital status. Six variables – level of education, area under agriculture, annual investment in agriculture, long-term investment in agriculture, cosmopoliteness and mass media usage – had a positive and significant relationship, whereas three – area under agriculture, long-term investment in agriculture and cosmopoliteness – collectively explained 37.2% of the variation in social capital between the groups. The findings suggest a need for further research to identify better variables that can predict social capital status.