Rural farm holds continue to use old improved crop varieties act as critical factor for agricultural productivity stagnation. This study aims to assess the adoption rate of improved rice varieties (IRV) with special attention to their release dates and factors affecting adoption of new IRVs at farm hold level in Kerala together with economic factors using Heckman selection model. Only nine per cent of the sample rice farm holds adopted new IRVs and remaining cultivates old IRVs which were released more than 20 years ago. The variables such as knowledge about new IRVs, training and exposure visit and economic benefits in terms of cultivation cost and returns significantly affect adoption probability. The policies exclusively focusing on productivity aspects need to be broadened to consider cost reduction, profit enhancement and complementary gains such as improved market access, value chain etc. for ensuring fair economic returns for farmers from heavy research investments.
Rose et al. (2026) studied this question.