Your search found 4 records
1 Varshney, Deepak; Mishra, A. K.; Joshi, P. K.; Roy, D. 2022. Social networks, heterogeneity, and adoption of technologies: evidence from India. Food Policy, 112:102360. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2022.102360]
Agricultural technology ; Social networks ; Mustard ; Hybrids ; Farmers ; Caste systems ; Socioeconomic environment / India / Rajasthan
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051433)
(0.64 MB)
This study examines the role of caste-based affiliations in the smallholders’ social network interactions for adoption choices. In particular, whether lower-caste, namely Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, farmers rely more on social networks for information than their counterparts. We further explore whether social network effects are more pronounced when farmers interact within their caste than otherwise. Finally, the study tests whether the effects (intra-caste and inter-caste) vary by caste—SC/ST versus non-SC/ST farmers. The study uses a survey of 478 mustard farmers in Rajasthan, India. Econometric concerns related to unobserved heterogeneity are addressed by employing specifications with village fixed effects and a series of robustness tests. Simultaneity concerns are addressed by analyzing the social network effects in a dynamic adoption framework. Results show that the adoption choices regarding hybrid mustard seeds are more pronounced for the lower-caste farmers than for their counterparts. Findings reveal that social network effects are significant in intra-caste but not in the case of inter-caste. Finally, the result shows that the likelihood of accepting advice in technology adoption is higher when SC/ST farmers interact with non-SC/ST network members than when non-SC/ST farmers interact with SC/ ST network members.
2 Varshney, Deepak; Joshi, P. K.; Kumar, A.; Mishra, A. K.; Dubey, S. K. 2022. Examining the transfer of knowledge and training to smallholders in India: direct and spillover effects of agricultural advisory services in an emerging economy. World Development, 160:106067. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.106067]
Agricultural technology ; Information transfer ; Advisory services ; Training ; Capacity development ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Social networks ; Wheat / India / Uttar Pradesh
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051434)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X22002571/pdfft?md5=451f642c87a9f0528193ce4fe0253a7f&pid=1-s2.0-S0305750X22002571-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051434.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051434.pdf
(0.91 MB) (930 KB)
We evaluate a large-scale model of agricultural advisory services, known as Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) or Farm Science Centers, introduced by the Government of India to facilitate smallholder adoption of new agricultural technologies. The study first evaluates the impact of frontline demonstrations and capacity-building programs conducted by KVKs and aimed at promoting a new wheat variety (HD2967); it then examines gains in the speed of diffusion at the district level. The study’s second objective is to estimate the spillover effects of KVKs through social networks. The study identifies network beneficiaries based on a ‘‘networks within sample” approach. The study uses a matched difference-indifferences approach and sample of 1496 wheat farmers in Uttar Pradesh, India. The finding shows that frontline demonstrations and capacity-building programs positively impact the adoption of HD-2967. The magnitude of the impacts is larger for KVK beneficiaries, but substantial gains also arise for network beneficiaries. The study underscores the importance of frequently conducting interventions to influence adoption on aggregate at the district level. From a policy perspective, the study offers new insights for strengthening outreach and extension services designed to facilitate the transfer of agricultural knowledge and information, emphasizing frontline demonstrations, capacity-building programs, and spillovers in extending the scope of KVKs.
3 Varshney, Deepak; Banerjee, Anurag; Chakraborty, Shreya; Mukherji, Aditi. 2022. The energy-irrigation nexus in Bangladesh: implications of rapid rural electrification on informal groundwater markets. New Delhi, India: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Initiative on Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA); Solar Irrigation for Agricultural Resilience (SoLAR). 10p.
Energy sources ; Groundwater irrigation ; Nexus approaches ; Electrification ; Rural areas ; Water markets ; Groundwater extraction ; Pumps ; Farmers / South Asia / Bangladesh
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051637)
(587 KB)
This brief provides a summary of research and findings on the impacts of rapid rural electrification in Bangladesh on the informal water markets during the last decade and how these markets in turn have affected irrigation access among smallholder farmers. The note emphasizes the importance of energy sources in determining the nature of groundwater access in Bangladesh, where groundwater remains central to irrigated agriculture and food production.
4 Varshney, Deepak; Meenakshi, J. V. 2023. Employment effects of an emergency assistance package for migrants displaced by COVID-19 in India. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 45(4):1922-1940. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13364]
Employment ; Migrants ; Emergency relief ; COVID-19 ; Social welfare ; State intervention ; Cost effectiveness analysis ; Households ; Rural areas / India / Bihar / Jharkhand / Madhya Pradesh / Rajasthan / Uttar Pradesh
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052032)
(1.65 MB)
This paper examines the employment effects of an emergency assistance package by the Indian government, the Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan that had the sole objective of providing employment to returning migrants. It was targeted to 116 districts that had seen returning migrants in excess of 25,000, was limited in duration to 4 months, and was directed at top-up funding to public works and 25 other target sectors in rural areas. Using a sharp RD approach, we find that the intervention had substantive impacts on employment and in reducing rationing in public works and that it did so in a cost-effective manner. In contrast to the widespread impression of a slow-moving bureaucracy, these results point to an administrative machinery that was able to successfully implement this project within a relatively short period of time.
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