Technology is essential but not sufficient for its adoption evidence from fodder innovation project

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to better understand how various social and policy issues constrain the adoption of innovations among dairy farmers and presents the observations of the relationship between the adoption of green fodder feeding to dairy cattle and marketing of milk in Puducherry. Though there are some isolated successes of promoting fodder entrepreneurs by the development departments in Puducherry, these approaches could not be sustained due to lack of complementary or supportive institutional arrangements. Adoption of an innovation (fodder transaction) is more constrained by social, economic and policy issues, which include transportation of fodder, relations between the fodder growers, buyers, secretary, Milk Cooperative Society, leaders of Women Self Help Groups, government policy on milk pricing, urbanization and, industrialization, rather than technological issues. The insights offered in this paper could be useful in the design of policies to address complex economic and social issues associated with fodder usage by the dairy farmers in general and landless dairy farmers in particular.