Adoption of nutrient management technologies for rice production: economic and institutional constraints and opportunities

Abstract

When semidwarf, fertilizer-responsive varieties became available in the late 1960s, a range of policy and institutional changes were also introduced to exploit the potential of these varieties. As a result, adoption of both high-yielding varieties and chemical fertilizers increased rapidly, especially in irrigated areas. A review of how these policy and institutional changes have influenced adoption of chemical fertilizers is presented using a microeconomic model of technology adoption. It is argued that fine-tuning of these policy and institutional innovations will continue to be important in further increasing rice yields and farmers' incomes, especially in rainfed areas where fertilizer use is still very low. In the more intensive irrigated areas, where chemical fertilizer use is already high, a change in the paradigm from that of encouraging higher input use to achieving increased input-use efficiency is suggested. Based on a conceptual model of the likely evolution of the nature of rice production systems in Asia, a somewhat targeted approach to the design of technological, policy, and institutional interventions for improving farmers' nutrient management practices is recommended.