Why 120 trained farmers did not adopt SRI
A DAATTC has trained 120 farmers in SRI paddy over three seasons in a command area of 800 ha. A follow-up survey shows 14 farmers adopted all recommended practices, 47 adopted some and 59 adopted none. The training was 70% lecture, held in the mandal office, and the demonstration plot belonged to a progressive farmer with a borewell and permanent labour. Women, who do most of the transplanting, were not invited. The local rice miller and the seed dealer are the most trusted sources for these farmers. Farmers say SRI needs too much labour and the nursery is difficult; 12 of the 14 full adopters are from one hamlet and belong to the same caste group. The project has one more season and a budget for six demonstrations, four field days and 200 leaflets.
1. Diagnose the adoption problem using the survey evidence and diffusion concepts. Avoid a generic list; tie each point to a number or fact in the setup.
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The first finding is that attendance and adoption have separated: 120 were trained, but only 14 adopted fully and 59 adopted nothing. A lecture-heavy, office-based programme produced awareness, not a decision to adopt. The demonstration plot was not representative - borewell water and permanent labour are precisely the conditions the farmers say they lack - so relative advantage was never demonstrated under their conditions. That also weakens compatibility with their labour calendar and makes the nursery look complex and hard to trial.
Second, the innovation's trialability and observability were low: farmers could see a show plot, not a step-by-step change they could test on a small area. Third, the network effect is visible: 12 of 14 full adopters come from one hamlet and one caste group, which suggests homophily - information is circulating inside a closed group, not across the village. Fourth, the most trusted sources are the miller and the seed dealer, who were not engaged, while women who transplant were excluded. The 47 partial adopters are the realistic target: they have accepted part of the practice but face a specific barrier.
2. Redesign the extension strategy for the remaining season with the given budget. Specify methods, actors and a timeline.
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Use the six demonstrations on representative farms: two with women's groups, two with tenant farmers and two with early adopters from different hamlets, all without assured borewells. Select fields by a transparent baseline, not by convenience. Recruit and brief two farmer-facilitators from the 14 full adopters, including at least one woman, and give them a small honorarium from the demonstration budget. Hold four field days at the decision points: nursery raising, transplanting, weeding and water control, and pre-harvest cost comparison. Invite the miller and seed dealer to one field day each and ask them to speak on market and seed quality, since farmers trust them.
Timeline: month 1 selection and baseline; month 2 nursery field day; month 3 transplanting field day with women demonstrating; months 4–5 weeding and water management; month 6 harvest and cost-benefit field day. Use the 200 leaflets only as a take-home summary in Telugu with pictures, not as the main channel. Start a farmer WhatsApp group for photos and queries, moderated by the facilitators.
3. What indicators would you use to judge whether the redesigned programme worked, and what would you refuse to count as success?
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Count practice adoption, not exposure. Indicators: percentage of trained farmers who raise a nursery of the recommended age; percentage transplanting single seedlings at wider spacing; percentage using mechanical or improved weeding; percentage adopting alternate wetting and drying where water allows; labour hours per acre and cost of cultivation; yield and net return compared with non-attendees. Add equity indicators: number of women and tenant farmers among adopters, and number of hamlets represented. Measure at baseline and harvest with the same farmers, and keep a comparison group of non-attendees.
Refuse to count attendance, leaflet distribution, number of demonstrations or photographs as success. A crowded field day with no practice change is a failed communication event. Also do not count average yield alone: if the gain comes from the two borewell farms, it says nothing about the 800 ha command. The honest measure is how many partial adopters moved one step, and whether the spread moved beyond the single hamlet and caste group.