This work assessed the impact of soil and water conservation practices on farm productivity and risk exposure using data from 1204 plots in the semiarid tropics of India. The results show that training, access to credit and extension services are key determinants of adoption of soil bunds. Furthermore, the results also suggest that soil bunds not only improve the crop revenue but also reduce its variability. Most interestingly, we show that soil bunds also reduce the chances of downside risk, i.e., crop failure. Therefore, in view of increasing climate change and variability in the semiarid tropics, it can be suggested that soil bunds could be an important adaptation strategy for improving productivity and reducing risk exposure.

The fertilizer sales data, on 319 districts over 30 months from April 2015 to September 2017, in Metric tonnes (Mt) is used to estimate the effect of the DBT intervention. Out of these 319 districts, DBT was implemented in 17 districts, which can be termed as treatment districts, and remaining districts are control. The analysis indicated that the DBT scheme has had a mixed impact on monthly fertilizer sales. While the monthly urea and DAP sales got reduced by 6727 Mt and 684 Mt respectively after the implementation of the DBT scheme, that of MOP and SSP did not change significantly.

Our findings point towards a decreasing trend in fertilizer use in recent periods. Among the fertilizer policies tested, the Retention Price Scheme increased the fertilizer consumption in the long-run, the decontrol policy made an immediate reduction in fertilizer consumption which was reversed in the long run due to the concession scheme that followed, and the Nutrient Based Subsidy scheme is acting in the expected lines of reducing fertilizer consumption. Research focus on fertilizers was in line with the challenges, as suggested by the co-occurrence network of the keywords extracted from Web of Science for the bibliometric analysis, and ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute and Punjab Agricultural University are identified as the top two institutions contributing to fertilizer research.

Using meta-analysis, we found that the effect size for yield increase due to biofertilizer application is o 1.59 in India. Among the biofertilizer groups, the combined application of (nitrogen fixing and phosphate solubilising) biofertilizers gave the highest value of effect size (2.25), followed by nitrogen fixers (2.05 ), phosphate solubilizers (1.15 ) and VAM (0.82 ). The effect of biofertilizers on different crop categories indicated the highest yield enhancing effect in cereals (1.91 ), followed by legumes (1.69), and vegetables (1.33). The yield improvement was found to be very low in the case of oilseeds (0.05). The effect sizes however varied across soil and agro-ecological characteristics. The results reiterated the importance of selectively using biofertilizers that suits the local soil and agro-ecological conditions.

We collected data from 400 farmers, 120 fertilizer retailers and 50 biofertilizer production units using the support received from NAHEP CAAST research grant. Using this data collected from 400 rice farmers of India’s IGP region, we empirically tested the link between farmers’ perception, revenue expectations, socioeconomic factors, and the policy environment to adopt organic fertilizers. We use Tobit and Cragg’s double hurdle model to study the farmers’ expenditure and adoption of organic fertilizers, respectively. The results show that only 32 percent of the farmers adopted organic fertilizers in the region. Further, membership in farmer organizations, training, and education are the key variables that determine the adoption of organic fertilizers, in addition to a positive perception of the benefits of their usage. The findings highlight the need for efficient extension efforts in organic fertilizers and suggest policy Interventions that promote collective learning through farmer groups.

An analyses spatial innovation dispersion and also level of innovation development across the crop sector was attempted. The study observed that paddy was the most innovation prone crop among the crop sector. For the states viz. Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka adoption laggardness were observed although the state effect was found conducive for paddy cultivation. It was also noticed that, role of price and wealth based variables were insignificant in determining adoption pattern in short run, while institutional factors and farmers’ linkage was proved to be decisive.

This study aimed at understanding the present status, prospects and factors contributing to production and consumption of millets in India. The factors affecting the consumption of millets was measured by using Generalized linear model. The correlation between different factors which may affect millet consumption revealed that for both rural and urban case, per capita monthly millet consumption is negatively related to total cereal consumption. The findings of knowledge test presented that there was significant difference in knowledge level between farmers and urban consumers 94 (t178=-3.745, p=<0.001). However, results of perception scale implied that there was no significant difference between the two group of respondents in their overall perception score. Based on the above information an e-learning module was developed and validated by urban consumers.