Women-led community institutions as a potential vehicle for the adoption of varieties and improved seed practices: an impact case from India

In recent times, the role of women farmers has been dramatically emphasized to speed up the diffusion of agricultural innovations. Besides, it has been observed that extension programs implemented through collectivized and non-collectivized women farmers show differential adoption rates. Technological interventions such as capacity building for quality seed production, when channeled through group-based women farmers, result in enhanced technical know-how and improved adoption of improved varieties.

Rice–wheat cropping sequence is the world’s largest agricultural production system and the lifeline for billions of people in South Asia. This system is India’s most widely adopted cropping pattern prevalent in the Indo-Gangetic plains of the country. It acts as a source of food and nutritional security for millions of people, besides being one of the major contributors of foreign exchange through exports.

The productivity under this cropping system largely determines the nation’s food security and the general welfare of the farmers. Although the green revolution technologies have significantly contributed towards enhancing the yields, the productivity under this system is still lower than its actual potential, thereby making it relatively less remunerative. With more than 50% of India’s population engaged in agriculture, the rice–wheat cropping system warrants evaluating and adopting all sustainable farm innovations for enhancing productivity and profitability.

Advancement of research programs in India has introduced several productivity-boosting scientific innovations, but most revolve around developing and disseminating crop varieties. Thus, a major share of scientific efforts to raise crop productivity is about farmers’ enhanced access to quality seeds of improved cultivars.

However, the efforts to improve seed security and its availability to farmers have yielded mixed results. The interventions aimed at improving access to quality seed by farmers as a productivity-enhancing measure have not shown uniform and positive results across the setups. Development, subsequent transfer, and availability of the technology cannot ensure its adoption, and consequently, cannot achieve maximal benefits to its end users.