Welfare Impacts of Sustainable Intensification Technologies in Smallholder Rice-Wheat Cropping Systems of the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Basin

Research

This research project evaluates the drivers and impacts of sustainable intensification (SI) technology adoption by smallholder farmers in the rice-wheat cropping systems of the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Basin (EIGB). The adoption of zero-tillage, early sowing, and other resource conserving technologies has potentially profound impacts on both farm productivity, household welfare and systemic resilience in the region, particularly in the context of climate change and associated increases in production risks. However, both the adoption of such practices, as well as their impacts, is likely to vary considerably across the EIGB’s diverse landscapes and households. It is possible that benefits of adoption – and thus incentives facing farmers – differ across alternative outcome indicators, e.g., land and labor productivity, profitability, consumption expenditure and income. Furthermore, the strongly gendered institutions and social norms likely affect the patterns of gender inclusion in SI. This project will complement existing data and analysis conducted under the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) project implemented by CIMMYT and partners in India since 2009. To complement existing data resources, this project will collect and analyze primary household survey data from two states (Eastern Uttar Pradesh & Bihar).