Faculty News

Faculty News
Home/Faculty/Faculty News
Prof Varsha Khandker’s paper titled “Agricultural technologies for marginal and landless farmers: the case of hybrid rice cultivation in India” was published in Agricultural Economics Research Review (AERR). The journal is supported by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi. The paper is co-authored with Prof. Vasant P. Gandhi (IIM Ahmedabad). The analysis of the farm-level data from 441 farmers across three states revealed that the benefits of hybrid rice and, therefore, the adoption vary by region and farmer type. Adoption is higher among farmers with inadequate water for irrigation and small landholdings. Marginal and landless farmers cultivate hybrid rice because it yields more and provides food security for their household. These results explain why hybrid rice is more prevalent in marginal conditions of states such as Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat compared to in fertilized, irrigated, and transplanted regions.