Status of Agricultural Technologies Adoption and Sustainable Intensification in Chickpea Crop in Rain-fed region: A study in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in India

Chickpea is predominantly cultivated pulse crop in the selected study area in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states in India. The performance of the chickpea crop has been impressive with a positive growth rate in area, production and productivity on adoption of the improved crop technologies (improved short duration varieties, package of practices, farm mechanization) in last three decades period. On this backdrop, present study taken up to analyze the household adoption behavior in adoption of improved agricultural technologies and their impact at farm level. Secondly to assess farm efficiencies and socio-economic and environmental sustainability of chickpea crop in the study area. The findings of the study reveals that, shortage of labour and crop profitability are statistically significant and positively influence chickpea cultivation in the study area whereas improved access to markets and increased support from financial institutions and extension departments may lead to crop shift and decline in chickpea cultivation in the study area. The calculated farm efficiencies explains that, on an average, farmers were able to obtain only 27.43 percent, 89.12 percent and 24.98 percent technical, allocative and economic efficiency respectively. Large landholding farms are more technically and economically efficient whereas marginal farms have achieved highest allocative efficiency. Farm level three dimensional crop performance analysis reveals that, the average crop efficiency achieved in chickpea crop is in the range of 30-60 percent across the different land holdings in the study area. Chickpea cultivation is more profitable on medium and large farm holdings than the marginal and small landholdings. The marginal and small farmers are incurring negative net returns while the medium and large farmers are able to get good average net returns. The social indicates infers that, there exists gender equity in work and income distribution of chickpea cultivation. The peer advice network is stronger compared to the informal and formal advice group in dissemination of crop technologies information in the study area. The environmental crop performance indicators witnessed efficient use of improved seed, unbalanced and excess use of fertilizers and poor application of FYM in chickpea cultivation farms. Constant use of machinery, in rainfed conditions without practicing the sustainable management practices resulted in lower technical and economical farm efficiencies in study area. The intensive cultivation of chickpea crop by using inputs disproportionately without practicing the sustainable management practices, constant mono cropping and failure to provide protected irrigation, poor institutional support are few factors that resulted in significant yield variation across the different land holdings and lower technical and economic efficiency of the chickpea farms in the study area.