Green revolution revisited: The adoption of high yielding variety wheat seeds in India

Abstract

Using the data collected by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) under the Additional Rural Income Survey (ARIS) for the year 1970–71, two models are estimated for the use of HYV wheat seeds. The first model estimated is the logit for the adoption of HYV wheat seeds. The second model estimated is the linear regression model for the percentage of land under HYV wheat for its users. The models include many social and economic variables. The results indicate that the proportion of land irrigated and the availability of tractors on hire in the village are the most significant variables for the adoption decision. Being part of the wheat‐belt region is also a very highly significant variable. The distance of the market from the village is significant in some cases. The proportion of land irrigated is a significant variable in all estimates for the second model also. The land owned (with a negative impact) and the existence of moneylenders are significant in some cases in the second model.

Notes

Department of Economics and Management Sciences, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT‐06226, USA. The author would like to thank Professor Finis Welch for making the data tape available to him, and Professors Bryan Ellickson, Joseph Ostroy, George Murphy, Dr Bhushan Kapoor, and an anonymous referee of this journal for their comments on an earlier draft of this article.