The economic implications of introducing new technologies under rainfed farming conditions in Sri Lanka : a case study

Abstract

Timing of cultural practices and income distribution throughout the year were considered to be the key factors in the success of rainfed farming. It was felt that new technologies for labour saving at peak periods and a crop that could be harvested during the off period are useful approaches to improving the production capacity of rainfed farms. This study aims to assess the economic benefits of new technologies (NTs) developed for rainfed farms in a range of practical farm situations. A case study approach was employed in exploring this situation. Two sample farmers were selected from a rainfed project conducted in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Whole farm planning based on Linear Programming (LP) was employed. Essentially, it looks at the farm-household as a whole entity with a common resource base, interrelated with the various activities of the farmer. This was demonstrated using only the historical technologies. The optimal plan generated specified a combination of alternative enterprises subject to a restricted resource base. The impact of introducing NTs was assessed by comparing the previous solution which employs only historical technologies with the new situation. That is, new technologies to be evaluated are included in the farmers' options along with the historical technologies. These new technologies include mechanical weeding, chemical weeding and a dwarf variety of castor. Show more