Are farmers willing to pay for drought tolerant rice? Evidence from Bihar and other policy research priorities for cereal farming systems in South Asia
Event Date: Feb 26, 2014
Time: 09:30 AM to 11:00 AM (GMT -5)
Location:
Ronald Reagan Building
1300 Pennsylvania Ave Public Information Center (Room M17/M18)
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Event Links: Webinar Recording
Information
Recent efforts to develop rice cultivars with drought-tolerance (DT) traits have resulted in the release of several varieties that demonstrate significant resilience to drought stresses. In this paper, we employ discrete choice experiments to examine farmers’ preferences for DT traits and explore heterogeneity in these preferences using primary data collected in rural Bihar, India. Using different modeling approaches to capture preference heterogeneity, our results show that farmers value the reduction in yield variability offered by DT cultivars, but are willing to pay even more for rice seed that offers yield advantages even under normal conditions. We demonstrate that risk aversion and loss aversion are important components of farmer utility, as these behavioral parameters not only significantly influence choice probabilities but also affect the way farmers value different seed attributes.
At this seminar, IFPRI's Patrick Ward and David Spielman discussed their recent study examining farmers’ willingness to pay for drought tolerant rice in three drought-prone districts in rural Bihar, India. Their findings shed light on how the gains from such technologies might be distributed among farmers, and have implications for future public and private sector R&D investments in drought tolerant technologies.
Are farmers willing to pay for drought tolerant rice? Evidence from Bihar and other policy research priorities for cereal farming systems in South Asia

Patrick S. Ward is an associate research fellow with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) based in New Delhi, India. His research focuses on policy and behavioral issues related to risk management and new... more agricultural technologies and practices to promote the sustainable intensification of cereal systems in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia. He holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University (2011), and was previously a visiting researcher with the International Center for Climate Governance in Venice, Italy. less

David J. Spielman is a senior research fellow with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, D.C. His research focuses on agricultural science policy; seed systems; and community-driven development.... more David was previously based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with IFPRI (2004-11). Earlier in his career, he worked on agricultural development topics for the World Bank (Washington, D.C.), the Aga Khan Development Network (Pakistan), and other organizations. David received a Ph.D. in Economics from American University (2003), an M.Sc. in Development Studies from the London School of Economics (1993), and a B.A. in International Relations from Tufts University (1992). less
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