Drivers in Adoption of Urea Deep Placement Technology in Paddy Cultivation : An Empirical Study in Kalahandi District of Odisha, India

Effectively managing the nutrient has been an important challenge among the farmers and a concern to the environmentalist. Not innovation, but rather a diffusion of technology among the farmers is a crucial challenge. Urea deep placement (UDP) in paddy cultivation is an innovation by international fertilizer development corporations to reduce nitrogen loss and increase the use efficiency of urea. The study adopted the treatment effect model at two-stage to answer the following two research questions: (a) what are the drivers in the adoption of UDP technology among farmers in paddy cultivation; and (b) what is the effect of adopted technology on the output of paddy? The important drivers, in this regard, include land ownership, gender, extension services, off-farm income, membership of farmer groups & training attended, assured risk coverage, and irrigation. Moreover, farm size and the adoption of urea deep placement technology significantly influenced the output of paddy. Added to the economic benefit of the technology adoption, it also creates employment opportunities in preparing urea briquettes and transplanting them. The placement of a urea briquette reduces chemical leakage and pollutes the water. Along with the adoption of deep placement technology, it has induced farmers on adopting mechanization and proper water distribution and channelization on the paddy field