To Bt or not to Bt? Risk and uncertainty considerations in technology assessment

The acreage under the transgenic Bt cotton seeds in India has risen significantly since its legalization in the year 2002. Discussions on the advantages from the technology have focused on increments in productivity and income, without much analysis on risk. We point out that claims on productivity gains seem to be misplaced, as appropriate counterfactuals do not exist for the same hybrids. In this article we analyse production costs and crop incomes in drought years to test a simplistic theory of risk based on first principles. We employ a mixed-methods framework to draw inferences by combining data from two cross-sectional surveys in Gujarat (Saurashtra and Southern-Plains) and Maharashtra (Western Vidarbha) for the period 2009-10 and compare it with unit-level data for the corresponding regions from a nationally representative sample for the period 2002-03. Empirical evidence, though limited, brings out the problem of how a high cost technology could be associated with higher risks and may be dominated by traditional alternatives under certain conditions. Ethnographic accounts from the field provide qualitative support to our understanding of potential risks and uncertainties associated with the new technology.Bt cotton, agricultural risk, technology evaluation, mixed-methods, India

Size-class and returns to cultivation in India: A Cold case reopened

This paper investigates the relationship between returns to cultivation per hectare and size-class of land cultivated in India, using unit level data from the 59th round National Sample Survey, 2003. The analysis is done separately for `kharif' and `rabi' - for total value of cultivation from all crops at the all India level. The empirical evidence rejects the null hypothesis of no relationship and points to the existence of an inverse association. We argue that the efficiency of the small-holders has to be taken with a pinch of salt because their low absolute returns brings into focus the question of their livelihood sustainability which is further aggravated on account of higher unit costs. Being the first exercise in a series of proposed explorations into disaggregated analyses across states, and for specific crops, it opens up the classic debate on farm size and productivity in the 21st century.agrarian crisis, agriculture, efficiency, livelihood sustainability, NSS, productivity, size-class

Kinetic behavior of liquefaction of Japanese beech in subcritical phenol.

Non-catalytic liquefaction of Japanese beech (Fagus crenata) wood in subcritical phenol was investigated using a batch-type reaction vessel. After samples were treated at 160 °C/0.9 MPa-350 °C/4.2 MPa for 3-30 min, they were fractionated into a phenol-soluble portion and phenol-insoluble residues. These residues were then analyzed for their chemical composition. Based on the obtained data, the kinetics for liquefaction was modeled using first-order reaction rate law. Subsequently, the liquefaction rate constants of the major cell wall components including cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin were determined. The different kinetic mechanisms were found to exist for lignin and cellulose at two different temperature ranges, lower 160-290 °C and higher 310-350 °C, whereas for hemicellulose, it was only liquefied in the lower temperature range. Thus, the liquefaction behaviors of these major cell wall components highlighted hemicellulose to be the most susceptible to liquefaction, followed by lignin and cellulose

ADOPTION BEHAVIOUR OF FARMERS TOWARDS WHEAT VARIETY SHUATS W-6, IN HOLAGARH BLOCK OF PRAYAGRAJ DISTRICT, UTTAR PRADESH

India is an agrarian based country with two third of population as farming community. Wheat, ‘King of cereals’ also the second most cultivated food crop has technological gap in adoption of improved variety, hence the present study aims to understand the socio-economic profile, knowledge, attitude and adoption level of respondents to identify the technological gap and increase the adoption rate. The present study is carried out with 120 respondents from ten villages of Holgarh block of Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh. Primary data collected with the help of semi-structured interview schedule and subjected to statistical analysis. The results indicated that majority of the wheat growers had medium level of knowledge, attitude and adoption towards SHUATS W-6 variety. Further, it was recommended for timely availability of seeds, fertilizer, proper marketing facility and reducing the cost of critical inputs. View Article DOI: 10.47856/ijaast.2021.v08i9.00