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The Role of Gender, Risk, and Time Preferences in Farmers' Rice Variety Selection in Eastern India

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  • Mamta Mehar

    (Athena Infonomics, India)

  • Takashi Yamano
  • Architesh Panda

Abstract

Using data from 5,601 rice farmers in Eastern India, this study examined the role of gender, risk, and time preferences in farmers' rice variety selection in Eastern India. The determinants of the following were estimated: farmers' rice variety selection according to variety type (i.e., modern [non-hybrid], stress-tolerant, hybrid, and traditional), and farmers' main reasons (i.e., yield potential, taste/cooking quality, marketability/affordability, and stress tolerance) for choosing a rice variety. A multivariate probit model was employed to identify the factors that influence farmers' decision-making, since some farmers choose to mix rice varieties from multiple categories. The results revealed that female farmers, who are more risk-averse, usually choose rice varieties based on cooking quality (e.g., good taste, high cooking quality, and good straw quality) and stress tolerance. They are less likely to select hybrid rice, and also less likely to base their decision on market-oriented reasons, compared to male farmers. Certain rice varieties released many decades ago remain popular among farmers because of multiple preferred attributes. The preference model is useful in understanding why some varieties are more popular than others, among female and male farmers.Â

Suggested Citation

  • Mamta Mehar & Takashi Yamano & Architesh Panda, 2017. "The Role of Gender, Risk, and Time Preferences in Farmers' Rice Variety Selection in Eastern India," Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), vol. 14(1), pages 17-36, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sag:seajad:v:14:y:2017:i:1:p:17-36
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    2. Malabayabas, Maria Luz L. & Mishra, Ashok K. & Pede, Valerien O., 2023. "Joint decision-making, technology adoption and food security: Evidence from rice varieties in eastern India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    3. Sonia Akter & William Erskine & Luc Spyckerelle & Lucia Viana Branco & Julie Imron, 2020. "The impact of women’s access to agricultural extension on cropping practices in Timor-Leste," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(2), pages 449-463, April.
    4. Takashi Yamano & Maria Luz Malabayabas & Md. Ashraful Habib & Subrata Kumar Das, 2018. "Neighbors follow early adopters under stress: panel data analysis of submergence†tolerant rice in northern Bangladesh," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(3), pages 313-323, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Variety Selection; Rice; Preference; India; Gender;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • C35 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions

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