1College of Agriculture, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, 263 145, India
2National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, DPS Marg Pusa, New Delhi, 110012, India
A survey of sixty randomly selected farm households from 4 villages in Udham Singh Nagar and Dehradun districts was conducted during 2005–06, to analyze adoption patterns of basmati rice and factors determining the acreage using Tobit regression approach. Results showed that increased incidence of insects and diseases, population growth, higher labour use, more input requirement and poor market price make basmati rice cultivation less attractive. Diversification of crops and varieties, food security, labor out-migration, long maturing and non-targeted varieties, higher input cost, high spatial variability of yield and return and poor market price have led to gradual the decline of area under basmati varieties. In order to reverse the trend, there is need to develop cost-effective management practices, ecosystem-specific and stress-tolerant improved varieties with high yields that could improve adoption, and increase net returns, and thus, makes basmati rice cultivation more attractive.
