What drives the adoption of fodder innovation(s) in a smallholder dairy production system? Evidence from a cross-sectional study of dairy farmers in India

D Thirunavukkarasu,N Narmatha,S Alagudurai

doi:10.17138/tgft(9)371-375

Abstract

The study in India involving 384 households found that 42.7% of dairy farmers adopted new forage varieties when varieties were released. The farmer’s resources, their caste, access to markets for milk and price received for milk had positive effects on the decision to adopt. Management of farms by women had negative effects on the adoption decision. Increased forage yield and ease of propagation and establishment were important reasons for adoption of varieties, e.g. the relative advantage of pearl millet × Napier grass (Cenchrus americanus × C. purpureus) vs. hedge lucerne (Desmanthus virgatus). Thus, researchers need to address these issues when developing new germplasm, if farmers are to readily adopt new varieties, especially in the case of resource-poor farmers.

Highlights

Attributes of an innovation are considered to be drivers of its adoption or rejection by end-users, explaining 49‒87% of the variance in adoption (Rogers 2003)
The study in India involving 384 households found that 42.7% of dairy farmers adopted new forage varieties when varieties were released
Research on factors driving adoption of improved fodder varieties by smallholder dairy-farmers, who account for 90% of milk produced and are associated with 80 million rural households in India, is limited

Summary

Introduction

Attributes (characteristics) of an innovation are considered to be drivers of its adoption or rejection by end-users, explaining 49‒87% of the variance in adoption (Rogers 2003). Since 1970, various stakeholders have made attempts to enhance productivity of dairy animals through improvement in feed and fodder resources, inter alia. These innovations encompassed: enrichment of crop residues; promotion of concentrate feeding; and fodder cultivation. For the year 2025, Singh et al (2013) predicted the deficit to increase to 65% for green fodder and 25% for dry fodder (residues of cereal and pulse crops). This scenario holds good for Tamil Nadu state, a tropical region and one of the leading milkproducing states of India. Various stakeholders, including Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), have been addressing the shortage of feed resources and between 1976 and 2019 TNAU released 22 fodder varieties/hybrids (Table 1)

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