National Agricultural Technology Project:

An Overall Impact Assessment

D.K. Grover

Prepared under the able guidance of

Dr B.S.Dhillon
Director Research
Dr G.S.Hira
Additional Director Research & Chairman, PME Cell
Dr J.S. Dhiman
Senior Plant Pathologist

PME Cell
Department of Economics
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
 (January 2006)
Contents

Description Page(s)

Introduction 1-2

Methodology 3-5

Results and Discussion 6-42

Administrative, Financial and Technical Efficiency 6-15

Impact Assessment of Information System Development 15-21

Impact Assessment of Bed Planting under NATP 21-30

Technological development and other social/ethical/environmental gains 30-42

Summary and Conclusions 43-45

2
 National Agricultural Technology Project: An Overall Impact Assessment

Introduction
The National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP) was launched with the aim of addressing

some of the institutional and funding constraints, strengthen research infrastructure and support

agricultural research and extension in high priority areas. To improve the research efficiency and

scientific productivity, several innovative processes were initiated. These included participatory

research priority assessment, monitoring and evaluation, peer review, financial flexibility, HRD,

infrastructure development and technology sharpening. The major objectives of the NATP program

were revitalizing the national research and technology generation, assessment, refinement and

dissemination systems; strengthening frontier areas of research to take advantages of modern tools

now available; addressing location specific production system problems for which technical solutions

exist; conserving natural resources base and enhance productivity of these resources; strengthening

management tools and procedures and development of information management systems suited to

national needs; and strengthening national capacity in research and extension management, policy

planning, priority setting, monitoring & evaluation to meet current and emerging needs of agricultural

development. One of the main objectives of NATP was to accelerate the process of organization and

management reforms, which in turn would increase overall efficiency of the National Agricultural

Research System. This was done through initiation of a number of new business processes and funding

research and extension activities. This report presents the assessment of implementation of the new

business processes and their impact along with the socio-economic impact of technologies, developed

or sharpened under NATP at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

3
 The impact assessment exercise has been initiated specifically with the following objectives in

mind:

1 Assessment of Administrative, Financial and Technical Efficiency

2 Impact Assessment of Information System Development

3 Impact Assessment of Bed Planting Technology

4 Technological development and other social/ethical/environmental gains

4
Methodology

In order to study the assessment of administrative, financial and technical efficiency, a sample of 15

research projects under NATP covering Production System Research (PSR), Competitive Grant

Projects (CGP), Mission Mode (MM) and Team of Excellence (TOE) modes and equal numbers of

research projects from non-NATP streams at PAU were selected for intensive survey. The required

information related to administrative/financial, technical performance such as funds utilization,

satisfaction level of administrative and financial powers delegated to them and constraints thereof,

human resource development (in terms of training) undertaken, infrastructure generated in the project,

status of collaborative research (in terms of multi-disciplinary/institutional work), research

productivity of scientists (in terms of research article published (national / international), book chapter,

participation in seminars/workshop/conferences/symposia, technical material published ( research

reports/bulletin/popular articles), technologies , developed by scientists etc., was collected from the

Principal Investigators/Scientists working in the projects with the help of an especially designed

research instrument. Managers of 12 research projects under NATP and 10 under non-NATP stream

supplied the adequate information. The results explained in this section are based on the information

supplied by the concerned Principal Investigators, pertaining to NATP period (1999-2003). Tabular

analysis along with the simple statistical tools like average and percentage etc was used for the

interpretation of the results.

Various concepts/ operational definitions used

Publication credit - A publication with more than one author has been equally apportioned among

them while counting. For example, if an article has three authors, it has been counted as one-third

publication for a particular author.

5
 Scientist –A person devoting more than 80 percent of their research time for a particular type of

research activity was taken as denomination while computing development of a particular type of

technology per scientist.

Intermediate product - These are the forms of research output and information not directly used by

the real beneficiary and is used as inputs in development of final products, e.g., development of

disease resistant parents in plant breeding program.

Agriculture and livestock inputs - Fertilizer, micronutrient, livestock feed/supplements, etc.

Scientific methodology - These are ideas such as development models, estimation methods, processing

methods, computation of Index numbers etc.

In order to study the impact assessment of Information System Development (ISD) under NATP, the

required data /information has been collected from respondents such as Scientists working in NATP

and Non NATP projects, various administrative wings of the university, extension functionaries

involved in the HRD/Training cell and library officials etc. with the help of especially designed

research instruments.

A sample of 16 farmers who adopted the practice of bed planting in the three districts i.e. Ludhiana,

Amritsar and Moga, were taken for the impact analysis. The respondents were selected randomly

from the list supplied by the PI of the project ‘bed planting system’. Impact assessment of the bed

planting technique was done using ‘with’ and ‘without’ approach. The primary data were collected on

the especially designed questionnaire. The information was collected on the socio-economic profile

of the respondents along with various indicators of impact assessment, with and without technology

pertaining to the year 2003-04. The various indicators involved were seed rate, fertilizers use, human

and machine labour use, plant protection chemicals, yield, quality, sustainability and environmental

protections etc. The interpretation of the results was based on the simple averages and percentages.

The cost of cultivation and gross returns under these two conditions were calculated for the impact

6
assessment. T-test was applied to know whether the changes in the level of inputs used and

yield/returns ‘with’ and ‘without’ technology are significantly different from zero or not.

In order to study the impact/ contributions of NATP on technological development, resource use

efficiency and other social/ethical/environmental issues, an especially designed schedule (Appendix

IV) was served to all the PI’s of NATP sub projects. Of the total about 100 PI’s, the adequate

information was received from 51 project incharges/scientists. The information, thus collected from

various scientists was compiled and analyzed.

7
 Results and discussion

The results have been discussed in the following four sections:

I Assessment of Administrative, Financial and Technical Efficiency

II Impact Assessment of Information System Development

III Impact Assessment of Bed Planting under NATP

IV Technological development and other social/ethical/environmental gains

Section I

Assessment of Administrative, Financial and Technical Efficiency of NATP

The relative performance of research projects being operated under NATP and non-NATP

streams at PAU has been studied with respect to the following operational aspects:

1. Utilization of funds

2. Decentralization/delegation of powers to PI’s

3. Human resource development

4. Research infrastructure development

5. Research collaboration

6. Research productivity of scientists

7. Technology developed by scientists

1. Utilization of funds: An efficient financial system is essential for timely flow of funds and

successful implementation of research projects. The funds utilization position at project level under

NATP and non-NATP stream has been shown in Table 1.1 Total funds allocated per project under

NATP and non-NATP streams were Rs. 5.86 lakh and Rs. 14.39 lakh respectively.

8
 Fund utilization at project level was more effective in non-NATP stream. Fund utilization as per cent

of budget sanctioned and amount released was found as 82.93 and 94.12 respectively. On the other

hand the fund utilization as per cent of budget sanctioned and amount released were 65.43 and 83.9

per cent respectively for the projects under NATP stream. The percent fund utilization of the budget

sanctioned varied between about 49 for Team of Excellence component and 78 for Production System

Research under NATP. Hence non-NATP projects showed better fund utilization position as compared

to NATP projects. Forty four per cent project managers under NATP and 40 per cent under non-NATP

projects complained about the delayed release of

Table 1.1: Funds utilization at the project/ mode level during 1999-03
Particulars NATP NON-NATP
PSR CGP MM TOE Overall
Funds utilization (Rs. 5.8 3.7 4.0 12.5 5.9 14.4
Lakh per project)
Funds utilization as per
cent of
(a) Budget 78.2 59.8 69.4 48.8 65.4 82.9
Sanctioned

(b) Amount released 78.7 61.8 76.6 138.2 83.9 94.1

Constraints in funds
utilization
(% Project)
Delay in release of 60.0 50.0 0.0 0.0 44.4 40.0
funds

Administrative 0.0 50.0 0.0 0.0 11.1 20.0

problems

Cumbersome purchase 20.0 50.0 0.0 0.0 22.2 20.0

procedure & formalities

Delays within institute: 20.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 22.2 20.0

( Non delegation of
powers)

9
funds for their respective projects. The other constraints inhibiting the effective and speedy fund

utilization as reported by PI’s were non-delegation of financial powers to them, cumbersome

purchase procedure/formalities under both NATP and non-NATP streams. 11 percent NATP and

20 percent non-NATP project managers highlighted the administrative problems.

The various general/financial and administrative constraints as mentioned by scientists

working in NATP and non-NATP streams have been indicated in Table 1.2 For speedy and

effective fund utilization at project level, the PI’s of NATP stream have suggested that funds

should be released in the beginning of the financial year and purchase system should be further

simplified. Besides the PI’s of non-NATP stream were looking for sanctioning powers to the

scientists and absolute financial powers for making efficient purchase and hence fund utilization.

\Table1.2: Major constraints and suggestions for the effective/speedy funds utilization, as
reported by PI’s.
S. NATP Non-NATP
No.
Constraints
1 Delayed payments of funds Delayed payment of funds
2 Cumbersome purchase procedure Cumbersome purchase procedure and
formalities
3 Lot of time taken by authorities in Non-delegation of financial powers to PI’s
preparing budget and releasing funds
4 Delayed and lower salary to Research Administrative problems
Fellows
Suggestions
1 Funds should be released in the beginning PI’s should be given financial powers
of financial year
2 Purchase system should be simplified Purchase system should be simplified
3 - Sanctioning powers to the PI

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2. Decentralization/delegation of powers to PI’s: The more administrative/financial powers were

mandated to delegate to PI’s for making decisions regarding fund utilization and purchase of

equipments etc. The response of the scientists regarding delegation of such powers under NATP

along with their uses and existing status under non-NATP stream is depicted in Table 1.3.

Table 1.3 :Satisfaction level of administrative/financial/decentralization /delegation of

powers to PI’s.
(% Project)
Power satisfaction level NATP Non-NATP
Poor 22.2 60.0
Satisfactory 77.8 20.0
Very good 0.0 20.0
Total 100.0 100.0

Under National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP), 22.2 per cent scientists were not

satisfied with the extent of powers enjoyed by them for handling their projects while the proportion

of such scientists under non-NATP stream was as high as 60 per cent. About 78 per cent scientists

assigned satisfactory status of delegation of powers to them under NATP and only 20 per cent

under non-NATP stream did so. No scientist has been found as highly satisfied with the extent of

delegation of administrative/financial powers to run their project independently under NATP

stream while under non-NATP stream 20 per cent were found as highly satisfied with the

delegated powers to them. The major constraints in exercising the delegated powers to PI’s have

been presented in Table 1.4.

Table 1.4: Major constraints in exercising the delegated powers to PI’s.

Sr. No. NATP Non-NATP

1 The administrative staff is under the control Financial Powers are not given to PI’s
of Head of Department
2 Sanctioning powers remained with Head of
Department

11
It was reported by the PI’s of projects under NATP stream that the administrative staff is under the

control of Head of Department rather than the PI’s and the sanctioning powers remained with the

Head of the Department. On the other hand the PI’s of non-NATP stream suffered, as the financial

powers have not been accorded to them for fund utilization and they have to depend on the Head

of Department for making expenses from the fund allocated for their projects. On the whole,

though, more administrative/financial powers have been accorded to scientists under NATP stream

yet more serious efforts need to be put into this direction especially on the effective

implementation aspect of powers delegated to PI’s under NATP for efficient management of the

research projects.

3. Human resource development: HRD is major component under NATP. With the provision

of HRD in research projects, the mobility of scientists within the country has increased. Scientists

were able to interact more with their peers, which helped in technology design and dissemination.

The trainings were being provided and attended by the scientists. Under NATP, 44.44 per cent

scientists have attended National training while only 20 per cent scientists have been trained under

non-NATP stream during the NATP period. No international training was attended by the scientist

under NATP where as 20 per cent scientists from non-NATP stream have participated in overseas

training. The average duration of training was found to be shorter (7 days) under NATP as

compared to 20 days in the projects under non-NATP stream (Table 1.5).

Table 1.5: Human resource development generated during NATP regime (1999-03)
(% Project)
HRD (Training) NATP Non -NATP
National 44.4 20.0
International - 20.0
Duration (Average) 7 days 20 days

4. Research infrastructure development: The research infrastructure, generated under NATP

and non- NATP projects during the operation of NATP (1999-2004), as presented in Table 1.6

12
highlighted that infrastructures development in terms of laboratory up gradation has been effected

in 56 per cent and 60 per cent projects under NATP and non-NATP streams respectively. Not even

a single computer/photocopier was purchased under non-NATP projects while in case of 33 per

cent NATP projects, the research facilities in terms of computer and photocopier etc. was

augmented. A very few scientists have regular access to Internet facility under both NATP as well

non-NATP stream.

Table 1.6:Research infrastructure generated during 1999-03

(% Project)
Infrastructure generated NATP Non-NATP

Laboratory up-gradation 55.6 60.0

Computer/Photocopier etc. 33.3 -
Access to internet facility 33.0 40.0

5. Research collaboration: The nature of research projects in terms of multi-disciplinary/multi-

institutional under both NATP as well as non-NATP streams have been depicted in Table 1.7.

Table 1.7: Multi-disciplinary/institutional type of Research Project

(% Project)
Particulars NATP Non-NATP
Multi-disciplinary 55.6 60.0
Multi-Institutional 55.6 40.0

The better emphasis on multi-institutional kind of projects has been observed under NATP stream.

About 56 per cent of the research projects were found to be multi-institutional under NATP stream

as compared to only 40 per cent under non-NATP stream.

6. Research productivity of Scientists: The research publications and technology developed for

its adoption by the farmers is a good indicator of judging the impact of research/technology

projects. Table 1.8 presents the comparative view of output in terms of research output per

13
scientist per annum under NATP and non-NATP streams. Research productivity in terms of

research papers has been found better in case of non-NATP projects as compared to

Table 1.8: Research productivity of Scientists (1999-03)

Particulars NATP Non-NATP
Number/ Number/ Number/ Number/
year Scientist/year Year Scientist/year
Research articles published
(a) National 0.3 0.2 1.9 0.7
(b) International 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1
Total
Book (Chapter) published
a) National publication 0.4 0.2 0.5 0.3
(b) International publications - - - -
Contribution in proceeding (Seminar/workshop/conferences)
(a) National 1.9 0.7 1.3 0.4
(b) International 0.1 0.02 0.3 0.1
Total
Teaching Material
(a) Compendium of lectures/course 0.1 0.02 - -
material
(b) Practical manual 0.1 0.04 1.1 0.03
( c) Others
Total
Technical material publication
(a). Research reports 1.6 0.6 1.1 0.4
(b) Research bulletins
(c) Popular articles/farmer 0.6 0.3 0.7 0.3
recommendation
NATP projects (Table 1.8). The average number of research articles per scientist per annum

published in National and International journals were 0.68 and 0.14 under non-NATP stream as

against only 0.17 and 0.11 under NATP schemes. The reason may be that NATP has started only

14
recently and the research output requires bit longer time to appear in the form of publications in

journals. The performance of non-NATP was also better in terms of book chapter contributed in

National publications. Contribution in proceedings of seminar/workshop/conferences at National

level was found to be better (0.73) under NATP as compared to 0.36 in the case of non-NATP

stream, whereas such contribution at international level was found better in the case of non-NATP

Projects. The average number of technical research reports was more (0.57) for scientists working

under NATP in relation to non-NATP (0.43).

8 Technologies developed by Scientists: Technologies developed by scientists in terms of

identification of improved varieties and development of agriculture livestock

production/management practices per annum/scientist was better in non- NATP stream. Whereas,

with respect to other aspects related to identification of intermediate products, development of

agriculture and livestock inputs and development of scientific methodologies, the performance of

NATP scientists has been much better than non-NATP scientists (Table 1.9).

Table 1.9: Technologies developed by scientists, 1999-03

Particulars NATP Non-NATP
Number/ Number/ Number/ Number/
Yr Scientist/yr Yr Scientist/yr

Identification of improved varieties 1.0 0.2 1.0 0.7

Identification of intermediate product 0.33 0.09 - -
Development of agriculture livestock 1.7 0.4 2.0 0.5
production/management practices
Development of agriculture and livestock inputs 0.3 0.1 - -
Development of machine/equipment 1.6 0.4 - -
Development of scientific methodologies 4.9 2.3 2.0 2.0
SUMMING UP:

Based on the above comparative performance analysis of NATP and non-NATP streams, the

following conclusions and policy suggestions have been emerged out to improve the overall

efficiency of the research system.

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* Fund utilization as per cent of budget sanctioned was 82.93 and as per cent of amount

released was 94.12 for non-NATP stream. On the other hand the corresponding figures were found

as 65.43 and 83.9 per cent for projects under NATP stream. This shows that the non-NATP project

had better fund utilization position as compared to NATP projects. Hence, it was suggested that

funds should be released in the beginning of financial year and provide more financial powers to

the PI’s for effective and speedy utilization of the budget. Though more administrative/financial

powers have been accorded to scientists under NATP stream yet more serious efforts need to be

put in this direction especially on the effective implementation aspects of powers, delegated to PI’s

under NATP for efficient management of the research projects.

* With the provision of Human Resource Development (HRD) component in research project

under NATP, the mobility of scientists within the country has increased. Scientists have been able

to interact more with their peers, which helped in technology designs and dissemination. Hence,

much more provisions need to be made for national/international trainings in the research projects

for better exposure of the scientists to conduct research more meticulously.

* Not even a single computer/photocopier has been purchased under non-NATP during the

study period while in case of 33 per cent NATP projects, the research facilities in terms of

computer and photocopier etc. was augmented. Hence, more funds for research infrastructure

development needs to be provided in all the research projects.

* The better emphasis on the multi-institutional kind of projects has been observed under

NATP stream as compared to non-NATP. Hence, the involvement of various related institutions

need to be encouraged for more meaningful and relevant research outputs.

* Research productivity in terms of research papers has been found better in case of non-

NATP projects as compared to NATP projects during the study period. The reason may be that

NATP has started only recently and the research output requires bit longer time to appear in the

16
form of publications in journals. The research contribution in terms of proceedings of

seminar/workshop/conferences at National level as well as in the form of technical research reports

were definitely better in NATP stream as compared to non-NATP stream during the period under

study, Technologies developed by scientists in terms of identification of improved varieties and

development of agriculture livestock production/management practices was less under NATP

whereas with respect to other aspects related to identification of intermediate products,

development of agriculture and livestock inputs and development of scientific methodologies, the

performance of NATP scientist has been much better than non-NATP scientists. This implies that

research projects with better infrastructure and with HRD as a separate component, are expected to

yield better in terms of research productivity and technology development.

Section - II

Impact Assessment of Information System Development

Under NATP, a lot of electronic infrastructure has been created in terms of computers, printers,

photocopiers, LAN, Internet, multimedia, Fax and modernization of library (Automated

circulation, issue and acquisition system, computerized catalogue system, electronic data base

system) etc. to facilitate/improve productivity of scientists, students and supporting staff. This

section has been devoted to study the usage of these facilities by different stakeholders and impact

thereon. This section has been divided into four sub parts:

1 Impact on Scientists

2 Impact on Head, Office/Administration

3 Impact on HRD/Training Cell

4 Impact on Library

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1. Impact on Scientists: The access to e-mail/internet to scientists at work place has been

indicated in Table 2.1. Under NATP category, 71.4 per cent scientists enjoyed access to

e-mail/internet at work place, out of which 40 per cent shared the e-mail/internet facility with other

scientists and rest 60 per cent had independent access to the e-mail/internet. The Non-NATP

scientists also enjoyed this facility though on share basis. On an average, the Internet used during

the year, 2003-04 by the scientists under NATP and Non-NATP was 66.28 and 26.52 times

respectively. The Internet was mainly used by the scientists for research purposes.

Table 2.1: Access to e-mail/ Internet to scientists at work place during 2003-04
(Percent)
Particulars NATP Non-NATP
Access 71.4 87.5
- Shared 40.0 100.0
- Independent 60.0 0.0
Availability of internet 100.0 100.0
- Regular 60.0 0.0
- Irregular 40.0 100.0
Number of times internet used 66.3 26.5
Purpose of internet use 100.0 100.0
- Administrative 10.0 0.0
- Research 80.0 100.0
- Extension 10.0 0.0

It was also hypothesized that with the development of internet/e-mail network the efficiency for

purchasing of different items will also increase because the quotations can be invited through this

link and ordered can also be placed. With this idea the use of Internet for its purchase purpose has

been studied in table 2.2. It is clearly brought out that Internet was not being used for this activity

both under NATP as well as non-NATP. The figure 1.43 under the NATP indicated that one

18
scientist has used Internet for inviting quotation once only and rest did not use internet for the

purchase purpose

Table: 2.2 Use of Internet for the purchase purpose during, 2003-04
(Percent)
Particulars NATP Non-NATP
Purchase of teaching / research materials 1.4 0.0
Purchase of equipments 0.0 0.0

On the whole it can be concluded that Internet facilities were being used both by NATP as well as

Non-NATP but NATP scientists had better frequency and access to this facility. The scientists

have become attuned to make use of internet/e-mail facility for research purpose and it is hoped

that the use of such facilities will be broad based in near future.

2 Impact on Head Office/Administration: Table 2.3 reveals the use of computer by the

administrative wing at PAU for various purposes during 2003-04. Mostly, computer was used as a

typewriter i.e. 34.1 per cent. The second most important use of computer was to maintain the pay

rolls of the staff as it is easy and does not require much of paper work. The percentage of

computer used for the maintenance of project budgets and accounts was 10.5. About 9.7 per cent

of computer time was used for maintenance of financial schedule and 7.9 per cent for

communication with headquarters. The use of computer for personal data base management and

communication was 5.4 per cent and 4.9 per cent respectively. The use of computers for other

purposes including maintenance of service book record, institute assets and liabilities, posting

circular, etc. was 15.3 per cent.

19
Table 2.3: Computer use by administrative wing for various purposes, 2003-04
Purpose % Use
Use as a typewriter 34.1
Maintenance of payrolls 12.2
Maintenance of project budgets/ accounts 10.5
Maintenance of financial schedule 9.7
Communication with headquarter 7.9
Personal database management 5.4
Communication with others 4.9
Others* 15.3
* Includes maintenance of service book record, institute assets and liabilities, posting circular etc.
The impact of electronic communication on administrative efficiency has been estimated and

shown in table 2.4. The average number of days saved per annum with the use of electronic

communication was 21.1. By assuming 250 as the working days, the increase in administrative

efficiency has been estimated as 8.44 per cent. The administrative staff of the university has also

been getting attuned to use electronic mail for exchange of information.

Table 2.4: Impact of electronic communication on administrative efficiency,

PAU, 2003-04
Indicators Average % Increase in efficiency
Time saving (Days) 21.1 8.4
Information sent through e-mail 109.0 -
(number)
No. of fax/ letters saved 74.3 -

3 Impact on HRD/Training Cell: The use of computer in training programmes during 2003-04

has been shown in Table 2.5. In main campus, the number of training with computer use was 102

whereas it was only 1.5 at outstations. It was found that computer was used frequently in various

20
training programmes. At main campus about 48 per cent trainings were organized for extension

functionaries whereas almost all the trainings were conducted for farmers at the outstations.

Table 2.5: Use of computer in training programmes during, 2003-04

Computer use Main campus Out campus
Number of trainings with computer use 102.0 1.5
Computer use frequency in various training Frequently Frequently
programmes
Participants in various training programmes
- Extension functionaries 1857.0 (47.6%) 16.0 (0.7%)
- Farmers 2044.0 (52.4%) 2417.0 (99.3%)
Total 3901.0(100.0) 2433.0(100.0)

4: Impacts on Library:
The library facilities of PAU have been modernized by the use of computers. The status of

different types of infrastructure/ facilities, updated with NATP funds has been studied.

Sustainability of Subscription of Foreign Journals: Journals form an essential part of the

Library collection and major expenditure of the Library budget is incurred on it that too especially

on foreign journals only. PAU Library has been subscribing to 994 journals in the year 1989 but

State/Institute grant was highly insufficient for it. It was of dire need to sustain the subscription of

foreign journals that was reduced to 471 by year 1997. It was only due to availability of NATP

grants that the Library could sustain the subscription to foreign journals. A sum of Rs 22,99,935/-

was spent on subscription of foreign journals in the year 2002-03 out of NATP grants. In 2003-04,

total expenditure incurred on foreign journals out of NATP grants was Rs 46,83,460/- and that in

the year 2004-05 was Rs 28,66,588.

21
Library Growth Trend: Expenditure incurred on procurement of books and periodicals during

last eighteen years was observed and it is found that with the availability of NATP grants from

1999 onwards, there was manifold increase in the expenditure on books and periodicals.

Subscription of CD-ROM Databases and Online Databases: One of the major contributions of

NATP was its financial assistance in modernizing the library services by means of

computerization. In addition to the subscription to foreign journals, the library could subscribe to

certain CD Rom and online databases under NATP grant. The Library subscribed to 3 databases in

the year 2000-01 and the number increased to 15 databases by the year 2004-05. The availability

of these databases turned out to be very beneficial to the researchers by increasing efficiency and

saving of time in literature search.

Internet Connectivity: It was of dire need to have Internet connection in the Library in order to

serve its users expeditiously, exhaustively and efficiently. NATP assistance made it possible to

have internet radio leased line connectivity of 256 kbps, which was later on doubled to 512 kbps in

order to provide faster internet accessibility. An amount of Rs 8,00,000/- was spent in the year

2002-03 and Rs 2,93,000/- in 2003-04 on this project out of NATP grants Now the users can keep

pace with the latest information and around 1000 users are making use of this facility annually.

However, this facility is provided on a subsidized rate of Rs 15/- per hour for the benefit of the

students.

Up gradation of Hardware/ and Soul Software: The existing computer system was further

strengthened by procuring new equipment like Tulsient CE Hybrid Serve, Scanner Hand hold etc.

for computerization programme through NATP grants. Soul software developed by

INFLIBNET was procured for computerization of library holdings. The software was purchased

for Rs 50,000/- and made operative. The data pertaining to the library holdings was fed into the

22
computer by contractor The library catalogue can be accessed online on PAU website

www.pau.edu

Intranet: For strengthening the intranet service of the library within PAU campus, CDH Server

was purchased and made functional in 2002-03. In addition to the above, the library has also

received the items such as Computer with monitor and printer, UPS 2 KVA and Modi Xerox 5837

photocopier gratis under ICAR assistance in the ARIS programme.

Library renovation/HRD: Library building being thirty years old required renovation, so some

amount was spent on curtain, periodical display rack, computer chairs, parking space etc. Two

staff members received specialized training under NATP sponsored programmes at Ahmedabad.

Summing up: Overall impact of NATP on the library has been significant. The contribution in

subscription of foreign journals, CD ROM Databases, Online databases, Internet accessibility,

procurement of hardware and software etc. has not only enabled the Library to sustain its basic

services like that of providing research material in printed form to its users but also helped the

library to step in the new arena of computerization. The availability of electronic media has made

the library services expeditious and exhaustive.

Section - III
Impact Assessment of Bed planting technology

There is no doubt that intensive agriculture in irrigated areas has brought about substantial

enhancement in the production of food grains and other agricultural commodities but this type of

farming has threatened the environmental safety and promoted the degradation and inefficient use

of basic resources of land and water and various production inputs. Thus it is a matter of universal

concern to sustain the productivity of agricultural system concomitant with friendly environment

and efficient utilization of production resources especially soil, water and nutrients

23
Numerous advantages were cited for adoption of bed planting system including; better irrigation

management, better plant establishment, ability to use inter-bed cultivation for weed control,

lowering seedling rate, less crop lodging, the opportunity to use same beds to plant a succeeding

crop with minimum tillage and increased compatibility of farming equipment used for wheat as

well as other crops. The literature suggests that there is a large possibility of mitigating the adverse

effects if the more innovative bed planting system for wheat replaces the conventional planting. As

water, fertilizer nutrients, energy etc. are getting scarce and costly there is an urgent need to

develop and refine planting practice (such as bed), which ensure enhance utilization efficiencies of

inputs and are environmental friendly. With all these advantages in mind, the multi-disciplinary

team at PAU undertook the NATP funded project on development of bed planting. The university

recommended the practice of bed planting to the farmers and some of the farmers started practicing

this technology on their fields. The impact assessment of this technology on yield and input use

pattern has been studied by conducting a comparative study of input use by adopters as well as

non-adopters i.e. bed planting technology vis-a vis traditional/conventional planting system.

Target domain and technology adoption:

However overall goal of this project is to improving and sustaining the productivity of irrigated

crops viz. wheat, maize, soybean, cotton, soybean and groundnut by fostering wide spread

adoption of bed planting practices. But the project is at its initial stages and at present in the

Punjab state the adoption of the technology is only on irrigated wheat crop in the Amritsar,

Ludhiana and Moga etc. districts. In this year the area under this technology on sample holdings

was 56.05 hectares and it was expected that it will be 71.37 hectares in the next year on these

farms, seems good potential for its adoption on large areas in coming years.

24
Changes in input use, yield, costs and returns under new technology

Input change: Some of the inputs were used in less quantity under the new technology and some

inputs were used in more quantity in relation to conventional planting system. The detail of

various inputs used under both the technologies (bed planting and traditional system) is given in

table 3.1.

Table 3.1: Impact of bed planting technology, sample respondents, Punjab, 2003-04.

(Per ha)
Particulars Input use/output with Input use/output with Change with new tech
bed planting technology traditional technology over trad. tech.(*%)
Physical Value (Rs) Physical Value (Rs) Physical Value (Rs)
term term term
Seed (kgs) 79.3 674.2 94.7 805.0 -16.2 -16.2*
Irrigation (No.) 3.7 - 3.6 - 2.5 -
Hours per irrigation 9.0 - 13.5 - -32.8 -
Irrigation hours 33.8 634.6 49.1 769.0 -31.1* -17.5*
Zinc /FYM 1.7 52.0 1.7 52.0 - 0.0
Fertilizers (kgs) 421.2 2670.2 440.1 2774.3 -4.3 -3.7*
Insecticides - 70.1 - 135.6 - -48.3
Herbicides - 1092.5 - 1614.7 - -32.3
Chemicals (Rs) - 1162.6 - 1750.3 - -33.6*
Human labor (hrs) 227.9 2791.0 203.4 2443.3 12.1 14.2
Machine labor (hrs) 21.3 3687.7 22.4 3618.2 -4.7 1.9
Total Cost of
cultivation (Rs) - 12839.3 - 13957.0 - -8.0*
Grain Yield (qtls) 46.1 28594.4 45.0 27887.6 2.5 2.5*
Price (Rs) - 620.0 - 620.0 - 0.0
Yield of bi-product 47.4 4475.7 49.1 4813.8 -7.0 -7.0
Gross return (Rs) - 33070.1 - 32701.4 - 1.1
Net returns - 20230.8 - 18744.4 - 7.9
*: Shows that the change in the particular use of a variable ‘with’ and ‘without’ technology is significant at
5 percent probability level.

25
Reduction in input use: The use of most of the inputs was less under bed planting system. The

various inputs reduced under new technology as compared to the traditional technology were seed

rate, irrigation, fertilizers (Nitrogen and phosphorus), chemicals (insecticides and herbicides) etc.

In Physical terms the seed rate reduction was about 16.24%, irrigation by 32.79 per cent and

fertilizers by 4.31 per cent. The change in the use of seed rate, irrigation, fertilizers and plant

protection chemicals under new technology was significant at 5% probability level. In value terms

the use of plant protection chemicals was reduced by 33.58 per cent under new technology as

compared to traditional planting. The use of machine labour was found to be reduced by 4.65

percent under the new technology, though this change was not found statistically significant.

Increase in input uses: The use of human labour was found to be more (not statistically

significant) under new technology that was about 12.07 per cent more in physical terms and 14.23

per cent in value terms over the traditional planting system. The difference in physical and value

terms may be due to the type of work done by human labour and their wage rate accordingly. In

the context of surplus labour available in the area, higher labour use may be even a blessing

disguise.

Saving of inputs: On the whole, it has been observed that under the new technology, saving of

seed is 16.24 Kg per hectare. Water is a precious resource, the saving of which has been viewed

from various angles of environment, cost and sustainability of crop system. Almost 33% saving in

water requirements of wheat crop has enormous impact in reducing sustainability problem apart

from reduction in cost @ Rs. 135/ha due to less irrigation hours/ha. Fall in water table in the state

has been viewed as a very serious problem. The present technology would help in mitigating it to

some extent. The cost of plant protection chemicals used (Herbicides & Weedicides) is reduced

by Rs.588/ha. This would be helpful not only in lowering the cost but also would improve the

quality of produce and may reduce human and animal health hazards.

26
Changes in Yield: The grain yield under bed planting system was 46.12 kg/ha, which was 44.98

qtl/ha in conventional planting system. Thus, the grain yield under new technology was increased

by 2.53 per cent, which is significant at 5% probability level. The yield of by-product is little less

in bed planting system as farmers highlighted the straw making problems. The yield of straw

under new technology is 47.35 qtl/ha and 49.12 qtl/ha in the traditional system.

Changes in Costs: Due to decline in the input use under new technology, overall cost of

production also got reduced. Cost of production per hectare under bed planting system was Rs

12,839 per hectare against Rupees 13,957 per ha under traditional system of planting. Thus, cost

of production got reduced by 8% in bed planting system over the traditional planting system and

the reduction in cost of cultivation/hectare has been found statistically significant at 5%

probability level.

Changes in Returns: The yield of bed planted wheat averaged to 46.12 qtl per ha as compared to

44.98 qtl per ha in case of flat system and the yield of by-product is almost equal under the two

systems as indicated in the above text. The gross returns in bed planting system were Rs.33, 070

per ha against Rs. 32,701 under flat system. Not only yield is more in bed planting system, the

cost of production per ha is also less. So, the net returns are more under bed planting system. Net

returns under bed planting system were Rs.20, 230 per ha as compared to Rs. 18,744 per ha. Thus,

per ha gains in net return are Rs. 1486 (7.93%) under bed planting system over the traditional

planting system and this increase in net gains has been found statistically significant.

27
Benefit to the state at 10 percent level of technology adoption: By increasing the area under

bed planting technology in the state the use of fertilizers and chemicals (weedicides and

insecticides) per hectare will be reduced along with cost of cultivation. Yield and net returns will

be increased. Total benefit of the technology at 10 percent level of adoption is given in Table 3.2

Table 3.2: Total benefit to the state at 10percent level of adoption of technology

Particulars Saving/improvement Saving/improvement at 10 per

cent level of adoption in the

Rs. /ha
state (3.42Lakh ha)

(Rs. Crores)

Seed saving 130.7 4.5

Fertilizers saving 104.1 3.6

Chemicals saving 587.7 20.1

Cost of cultivation 1117.7 38.2

Yield improvement 706.8 24.2

Net returns (gains) 1486.2 50.2

In the year 2003-04 the area under wheat in the Punjab state was 34.2 lakh hectares. If we assume

10 per cent adoption level of the technology in coming years, then the saving of various inputs like

seed, fertilizers and chemicals will be of Rs.4.47, 3.56 and 20.10 crore respectively. The overall

saving in cost of cultivation will be Rs. 38.24 crore. The improvement in the yield will be of worth

Rs. 24.18 crore and thus an improvement of Rs.50.18 crore in net returns to the state will be

realized.

28
Sustainability, environmental and other impacts of technology: Besides the gain in net returns

to the farmers there are also some Sustainability and other impacts of new technology which are

given as under:

The farmer’s perception about the new technology in terms of selected indicators related to

sustainability and other impacts (positive and negative) were studied using five point scale i.e. very

low, low, medium, high and very high. The respondents have not expressed any negative

sustainability impact of the technology. The positive sustainability as well as other impacts of the

technology as perceived by the farmers with varying intensity has been depicted in Table 3.3

Table 3.3: Frequency distribution of the farmer’s perceptions regarding the

sustainability impact of technology.

Parameter Number of farmers Total

Very low Low Medium High Very high

Sustainability - 4 5 4 3 16
of crop growth (25.0) (31.3) (25.0) (18.7) (100.0)
Soil 4 4 5 3 16
texture/quality (25.0) (25.0) (31.3) (18.7) (100.0)
Soil organic 4 3 4 3 2 16
matter (25.0) (18.7) (25.0) (18.7) (12.5) (100.0)
Figures in the parentheses indicate the percentage to the total number of farmers.

Table 3.3 shows that more than 75 percent farmers admitted that the bed planting technology will

have positive and medium to very high impact on the sustainability of crop growth. About the

positive impact on soil texture/quality about 50% farmers admitted that it would improve the soil

texture/quality medium to very high. Medium to very high positive impact of technology on soil

organic matter was admitted by about 56.per cent farmers.

29
Other impacts: In addition to the sustainability, the other impacts of the technology are given as:

- The use of chemical, weedicides gets avoided which is highly desirable in the context of

WTO requirements.

- It protects our natural resources like water and fuel etc.

- Bed planting system would help in achieving better yield by using lesser and efficient use

of various resources i.e. water, fertilizer, seed and weedicide etc.

- Mechanical interculture/integrated control of weeds in both beds and furrows in this system

of planting would greatly help to reduce the dependence on herbicide use. Also the hand

picking, if some left over Phalaris minor plants are there, is easier in bed planted wheat.

Continuous use of mechanical interculture for 4-5 years and hand picking of some left over

weeds may ultimately remove the phalaris minor menace from the wheat fields.

- Success in developing appropriate bed farming equipment, the success in this connection is

expected to greatly improve the agro-industrial base and employment scope of agricultural

workforce.

Constraints: Various constraints pointed out by farmers, which hinder the adoption of new

technology with the level of constraints (very low, low, medium, high, very high) against the

percentage of farmers facing that constraints are given in table 3.4. Table 3.4 Indicates that based

on the experience of the technology adopters, it has been brought out that constraint viz. cash

problems, costly machinery, time consuming technology and more weeds in furrows has not

posed serious problem for the farmers. The farmers facing these constraints varied between 12.5-

25 percent. The other constraints like non-availability/repair of bed planter, difficulty in straw

making, lack of extension services and difficulty in harvesting the crop are the constraints that are

faced by the sizeable number of the farmers i.e. 31.25-50 percent of the total farmers.

30
Table 3.4: Constraints/problems in technology adoption based on the experience
of respondents, Punjab, 2003-04.
Number

Sr. Constraint Non-

No. existent Existent
Very Low Medium High Very Total
low high
1 Cash problems 12 - - 2 2 - 4
(75.0) (12.5) (12.5) (25.0)
2 Costly machinery 12 - - 1 3 - 4
(75.0) (6.3) (18.8) (25.0)
3 Non-availability/ 8 - 2 2 2 2 8
repair of bed (66.7) (12.5) (12.5) (12.5) (12.5) (50.0)
planter
4 Time consuming 12 - 2 1 1 - 4
technology (75.0) (12.5) (6.3) (6.3) (25.0)
5 Non-availability 11 - - 2 1 2 5
of labour (68.8) (12.5) (6.4) (12.5) (31.3)
6 Difficulty in 8 - 3 3 2 - 8
harvesting the (50.0) (18.8) (18.8) (12.5) (50.0)
crop
7 Difficulty in 9 - 1 3 2 1 7
straw making (56.3) (6.3) (18.8) (12.5) (6.3) (43.8)
8 More weeds in 14 - - 1 1 - 2
furrows (87.5) (6.3) (6.3) (12.5)
9 Lack of extension 11 2 - 2 1 - 5
services (68.8) (12.5) (12.5) (6.3) (31.3)
Figures in the parentheses indicate the percentage to the total number of farmers.

31
Summing up: The comparative analysis has brought out that the new technology is helpful in

saving the various inputs, reduce the cost of cultivation, increase yield and hence net returns to the

farmers are increased.

* The quantity of inputs such as seed rate, irrigation and fertilizers was reduced by 18.35,

32.75 and 4.97 percent respectively. Expenditure on plant protection chemicals was decreased by

33.94 percent. The use of machine labour was reduced by 4.08 percent and that of human labour

was increased by 12.14 percent. The overall cost of cultivation was reduced by 8.28 percent. The

grain yield was increased by 3.36 percent resulting in increase in net returns by 10.09 percent.

* Environmental and some other impacts of the technology are that it is environment friendly

technique because the use of chemicals is decreased due to which it is helpful to check the

environmental degradation and protects domestic insects and animals. It conserves our natural

resources like water, fuel etc.

* Under the new technology, diversification through intercropping of sugarcane/mentha in

wheat on beds would be another advantage.

Section IV

Technological development and other social/ethical/environmental gains

Based on the information received from 51 PI’s of the NATP sub projects at PAU,

the following observations have been made:

Technological Gains: About 80 percent of the total NATP sub projects attempted to make

quantitative/qualitative improvements in farm technology flow, as indicated in Table 4.1.

32
 Table 4.1: The NATP sub projects contributing towards qualitative/quantitative
improvements in technology flow.

Description Number Percentage

Quantitative improvement in 41 80.4

technology flow

Qualitative improvement in 36 70.6

technology flow

Technological gains 24 47.1

Some of the major technological gains due to NATP are listed here.

* Heat tolerant genotypes of hirsutum cotton have been identified for their cultivation in

spring season.

* Development of pest resistant cotton varieties with synchronized boll opening and high

yield potential.

* Development of GMS and CMS based cotton hybrids will help in production of hybrid

seed at cheaper rates.

* Yield of newly developed tomato hybrid (TH-1) is 10-20% higher than the popularly

grown hybrids.

* Brinjal hybrids BH-1 and BH-2, evaluated give 28% higher yield than commercial checks.

* Shelf life of carrot and cauliflower by employing freezing technology has increased up to

four months.

* A technique for field verification of the theoretical computation of water requirement of

kinnow using drip irrigation system has been developed.

33
* Micro propagation protocol for Paulownia fotunei has been standardized that leads to 35

fold increase in shoot multiplication.

* The antagonist application combined with termeticide and fungicides to wheat seed would

help in the better crop stand and improved yield of wheat.

* The fine mapping of novel adult plant leaf rust resistance genes in wheat will reduce the

time taken for their designation.

* Rainwater management on micro watershed has helped in soil moisture conservation

through reducing surface runoff and resulted in about 25% improvement in grain yield of

maize and wheat

* Developed water production functions for wheat crop using surface and sprinkler methods

of irrigation and a model for optimal allocation of water for wheat crop under limited water

availability conditions. The optimal allocation model so developed has reduced water

requirement from 380mm for maximum yield to 349mm for maximum net profit in case of

surface irrigation and 338mm to 298mm in case of sprinkler irrigation using diesel pump

set without any significant difference in yield.

* QPM single cross hybrids of maize developed partly under NATP project have 4% to 30%

higher grain yield than the national QPM check.

* Three new varieties of green manure, Ses-Pant-1, DH-1 (Sesbania) and ND-1 (Crotalaria)

were evaluated and released at national level. The green and dry biomass of these new

varieties is 15-20 per cent higher as compared to the check varieties.

* Selection for ratooning ability in early stages of clonal evaluation has helped improving

economics of sugarcane cultivation.

34
* Intercropping of black gram, green gram, berseem, shaftal and ryegrass in winter rationed

sugarcane and raya, cabbage and potato in autumn sugarcane increased the productivity and

profitability compared to respective sole crop of sugarcane.

* Purified and maintained nearly 800 well-characterized aromatic lines of basmati types in

the national gene bank.

* Results of on farm trials indicated that grain yield of rice increased by 10-12 per cent (500-

600 kg/ha) with green manuring as compared to non-green manuring

* The short duration and short stature sunflower hybrid PSFH 118 has been developed. The

new cultivar gave about 10 -17 percent higher yields than check (PAC 302) in both

research and adaptive trials.

* Development of diversified germplasm base of mustard will reduce the risk of genetic

variability and synthesized B.juncea will contribute towards yield enhancement.

* Fish productivity enhancement through stock manipulation (mainly the seed size and

species) is an improvement over the existing technology.

* Due to the supply of superior germplasm in the form of frozen semen of cattle to the

selected households, farmers now possess superior dairy animals with exotic inheritance in

cattle ranging from 62.5 to 75%.

* Factors affecting fertility in buffaloes and cross bred cows were identified. Cost effective

corrective and therapeutic measures were developed.

* Active and passive disease data on different infectious diseases of livestock in the state

helped in the development of software based disease forecasting model NADRES (National

Animal Disease Referral Expert System) at ADMAS Bangalore.

* Established Animal serum bank in the Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Vety.

Medicine to know the prevalence of various infectious diseases in the state.

35
* Epidemiology of paramphistomosis in ruminants based on coprology helped in

development of control and prevention of disease in the region.

* The supplementation of herbal feed additives in the diet of the ruminants improved the

fiber utilization from poor quality crop residues, resulting in economizing the productive

performance of calves.

* Complete feed/total mixed rations for dairy animals of different production levels were

developed using locally available feed resources, which can reduce feed cost, increase milk

production and improve socio-economic status of the farmers.

* Use of by-pass fat and protein was recommended in rations of high milk producing cattle in

late gestation and early lactation (transition period) resulting in improved milk yield and

reproductive performance of the animal.

* Results of on farm trials indicated that grain of rice crop increased by 10-12 per cent after

green manuring and farmers obtained 500-600 kg/ha more grain yield.

* Development of diversified germplasm base of mustard will reduce the risk of generic

variability and synthesized B.juncea under mustard improvement programme will

contribute towards yield enhancement of the crop.

* The project entitled improving skills and instrumentation for water application in field for

enhanced water use efficiency has developed water production functions for wheat crop

using surface and sprinkler method of irrigation and a model for optimal allocation of water

for wheat crop under limited water availability conditions. The optimal allocation model so

developed has reduced water requirement from 380mm for maximum yield to 349mm for

maximum net profit in case of surface irrigation and 338mm to 298mm in case of sprinkler

irrigation using diesel pump set without any significant difference in ield.

36
* Input Use Efficiency: The number of projects concerning directly or indirectly with the

resource use efficiency have been shown in Table 4.2

Input Use Efficiency: The number of projects concerning directly or indirectly with the resource

use efficiency have been shown in Table 4.2.

Table 4.2: The NATP sub-projects mandating the enhancement of use efficiency of
various farm resources

Description Number of projects Percentage

Savings in various resources 36 70.6

Seed 5 9.8

Water 14 27.4

Micronutrients 1 1.9

Fertilizers 10 19.6

Insecticides 10 19.6

Herbicides 6 11.8

Human labour 11 21.6

Machine labour 7 13.7

Diesel 10 19.6

Profitability enhanced 21 41.2

Total 51

Seed: About 10 per cent NATP projects were related to the seed improvement programme. Seed

production of genetic male sterility (GMS) based hybrids of cotton under development of hybrid

crops programme is cost effective. The standardization of cultural technology of Paulownia

37
fortunei resulted in germination enhancement up to 96 percent. With the improvement in

ratoonability during winter months, there will be significant saving of sugarcane seed cost every

fifth year.

Water: About 27 per cent of the total sampled NATP projects were concerned with water saving

aspect. Bed-planting technology would result in water saving to the tune of 25-30 per cent. PSFH

118 being short duration hybrid of sunflower will save requirement of water during the hot months

of April and May. Water saving to the tune of 20-30 per cent has been reported as a result of the

use of pulverizing roller attachment to cultivator developed by the Farm Power and Machinery

wing of the university. Invention of water measurement and scheduling devices has helped 30-40%

water saving at field level. The management practice of intercropping of a number of crops in

sugarcane will cover the inter row spaces and reduces evaporation losses. Planting of rice on the

recommended time was highlighted under Technology assessment and refinement (TAR) project

would certainly save underground water.

Micronutrients: With the extension efforts under TAR project, the awareness among farmers

regarding need-based use of micronutrients was created. Resultantly, farmers have started applying

recommended quantity of manganese and zinc in deficient soils to wheat and paddy that will

certainly improve the crop yields.

Fertilizers: In about 20 per cent of the total NATP sub projects, the efforts were also made

regarding the promotion of judicious fertilizer use. The popularization of balanced use of fertilizers

would minimize the incidence of severity of insect pest and diseases. Farmers can save 50-60 kg

Nitrogen/ha that is fixed in the soil through green manuring. The use of new varieties of green

manuring i.e. Sesbania (Dhanicha) and crotalaria (Sunnhemp) will add 15-20% more N to the soil.

Incorporating rice straw in soil can do another 25-35% saving in fertilizers. With the application of

38
proper and accurate machinery through TAR project, the integrated nutrient management practice

gained momentum.

Insecticides/ Herbicides: Around 20 per cent of the total sampled NATP sub projects were

related to the proper use of insecticides and 12 percent with use of herbicides in various crops.

Farmers were advised regarding the need-based use of, insecticides and herbicides. As a result,

sprays against pest and diseases in various crops have been reduced by about 40 percent.

Human labour: About 22 per cent of the total sampled NATP sub projects were related with the

improvement in labour use efficiency in various farm operations in the state. About 30-50% labour

is saved by use of no till and strip till drills.

Machine labour/ diesel: About 14 per cent of the total sampled NATP sub- projects were

directly/indirectly related to the machine use component in various farming operations. Saving of

about 70-80 percent machine usages time will be possible with the adoption of zero tillage and also

reduce the diesel consumption. Savings in diesel consumption and reduction in costs for

replanting of sugarcane every fifth year instead of third year in the existing technology will be

possible. Intercropping of various crops with sugarcane would increase the usages of tractor

leading to the better utilization of the existing tractors.

Profitability: Increased grain yield of rice after green manuring and reduced cost of nitrogen will

enhance the profitability of the farmers by about Rs 1500-1800 per hectare. Profit from

intercropped sugarcane would be higher to the extent of Rs 12,500/ha as compared to sole

sugarcane crop. Newly developed hybrids of tomato, brinjal and chilli etc, being high yielding and

better quality will help in boosting the economic returns to the farmers by 15-20 per cent.

Interventions to ameliorate anestrus in buffaloes proved highly profitable. Actually, in most of the

projects, the efforts were made either to reduce cost of cultivation through resource conservation or

yield enhancement through the development of better technologies/ agronomic practices or the

39
minimization of losses (harvest and post harvest) in different crops. All these efforts ultimately

have improved the net returns/ profitability of the farmers.

Social/Ethical Impacts: The number of NATP projects dealing with the social and ethical issues

has been shown in Table 4.3.

Table 4.3: The NATP sub projects impacting the various social and ethical issues

Description Number of projects Percentage

Benefit to small/marginal farmers 29 56.9

Income equality 11 21.6

Gender equity 7 13.7

Women’s economic empowerment 7 13.7

Participatory approach to technology 15 29.4

development
Participatory approach to dissemination 17 33.3
activities
Public/private partnership 14 27.4

Drudgery/work load reduction 11 21.6

Saving of time 18 35.3

Convenience 15 29.4

Off season benefits 12 23.5

Poverty alleviation 15 29.4

Employment/labour intensive 13 25.5

Total 51

Newly developed hybrids being high yielding will help boost total yield and economic returns for

marginal farmers. Small farmers will be benefited by reduced use of various inputs like pesticides

40
and fertilizers. The sunflower hybrid PSFH 118 is protected from the birds damage after seed

filling due to its head inclination parallel to soil surface, thus the farmer having small holding can

also adopt this hybrid. The quality package developed in respect of field crops, fruit crops and

vegetable crops would help all the farmers including small and marginal ones Due to enhanced fish

productivity, the socio-economic status of the fisher folk will be improved. The supply of superior

germplasm of cattle to the small and marginal farmers will improve the genetic make up of their

animals. Resultantly, future progeny is expected to excel in productivity compared to their parents.

Gender equity/ Women’s economic empowerment: Women will be involved in various

operations of intercrops at the farm. Increase in employment avenues throughout the year will

make the women financially secure. The newly developed hybrids of vegetable crops like tomato,

brinjal and chilli etc, being multi-picking crops, more women labour will be engaged for

harvesting which will generate more employment and improve women status.

Participatory approach to technology development and dissemination activities: The hybrids

were evaluated at farmer’s fields and their opinion was considered before the hybrids were

recommended. Farmer training programmes were organized to impart practical training for

producing seed of newly developed hybrids IPM module for rice wheat sequence was evaluated at

farmers field in different villages. Machines were developed through the participation of local

manufacturers. Self help group approach and participatory methods such as focused group

discussions and village resource mapping were carried out to assess needs for technological

interventions. Multimedia kit was developed and tested by using participatory approach i.e.

training needs of young farmers were identified regarding crop production and agricultural

subsidiary occupations.. Fish farmer/contractor was involved in developing/designing of cages for

cage fish culture in the reservoir.

41
Public/private partnership: The development of maize hybrids for quality protein contents,

carbohydrate profile and oil will be able to generate public-private partnership. Poultry industry

has shown great interest in quality protein maize. Starch industry gets attracted to specialized

starches i.e.. waxy and amylo maize. Animal feed manufacturers and mills are keen to utilize high

oil maize hybrids. Punjab Agro Foodgrains Corporation is eager to jump in for contract farming of

these specialties. More participation of sugar mills in holding seminars in their respective mill

areas for dissemination of knowledge of improved varieties has been noticed. Seed production of

hybrids Parkash and JH 3459 has been taken up by PAU, Ludhiana; National seeds Corpn. Tarai

Seed Development Corpn. (TDC), Punjab State Seeds Corpn. (PSSC), Central State farm,

Baharaich (UP), Private seed producers and many progressive farmers. Seed of parental lines of all

released hybrids has been supplied to many private seed companies. Hence, enhanced private-

public cooperation in the area of hybrid seed production and specialized oil production.

Drudgery/work load reduction/ Convenience: Significant reduction in workload and drudgery

has been observed due to introduction of no till/strip till drills, straw chopper etc. Various

agricultural and animal husbandry technologies have reduced drudgery to a considerable extent.

Agricultural operations having intensive women involvement were simplified/facilitated through

the use of simple equipments especially tasks such as cleaning and grading of grain, weeding,

groundnut shelling, seed treatment, cleaning of field, making of bunds etc

Off-season benefits: Brinjal hybrids developed are ten days earlier than commercial hybrids. This

will earn price premium in the market. The standardization of cultural technology of Paulownia

fortunei enabled the plant multiplication possible throughout the year under controlled

environment for sustainable agro-forestry systems in Punjab. Fish is a cash crop and can be

harvested at any time in any season according to the prevailing market rates.

42
Poverty alleviation: In most of the projects, the efforts were made either to reduce cost of

cultivation or yield enhancement through the development of better technologies/

agronomic/livestock production, nutrition and health practices or the minimization of losses

(harvest and post harvest) in different crops. All these efforts ultimately have improved the net

returns/ profitability of the farmers. The labour use has also been shifted from less efficient to

more efficient uses. Economic condition of farmers is expected to improve due to all these

multifaceted development efforts undertaken.

Environmental Impacts: NATP projects addressing various environmental issues have been

given in Table 4.4.

Table 4.4: The NATP sub projects addressing the various environment related issues

Description Number Percentage

Improved groundwater recharge 13 25.5

Reducing soil erosion 13 25.5

Conservative use of agro-chemicals 18 35.3

Better management of agro-chemical to 18 35.3

reduce pollution
Improved use of plant varieties 18 35.3

Improving soil fertility 14 27.4

Reducing deceleration of underground 11 21.6

water table
Misc. 10 19.6

Total 51

Improved groundwater recharge: Emphasis was also given on the conservation of natural

resources such as water and soil through different cultural practices. Spring cotton will divert some

of the area under rice, which will help to improve the ground water recharge. Development of

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hybrids requiring less irrigation would result in saving of ground water. Intervention based on

integrated nutrient management and integrated pest management emphasized the judicious use of

inputs and helped in reducing environmental pollution. The judicious use of pesticides was done

based on economic threshold level (ETL), which helped in reducing environmental pollution.

Conservative use of agro-chemicals: With the introduction of resistant cotton varieties, only 2-3

sprays of insecticides are required to control the insect pests in spring season resulting in about

20% saving in agrochemicals. The technology developed under the project will help to identify

more novel genes, which will reduce use of agro-chemicals to control leaf rust disease of wheat.

The use of chemical fertilizers to apply Nitrogen to the crops can be reduced following the practice

of green manuring using the improved varieties developed under the project. Increased time

interval for replanting of sugarcane, through better ratooning varieties, will reduce the use of

mercurial fungicides for seed treatment. Considerable reduction in the use of pesticides and

fertilizers has been achieved as a result of introduction of integrated pests management and

integrated nutrient management strategies particularly in cotton, wheat and rice crop.

Improved use of plant varieties: Tomato hybrid TH-1 is moderately resistant to early blight thus

requiring lower pesticide sprays. Brinjal hybrids being tolerant to fruit and shoot borer will reduce

the use of pesticides.

Improving soil fertility: The practice of green manuring improves soil fertility as it adds 50-60

kgN/ha to the soil. It also improved soil structure by adding humus to the soil. The environmental

pollution caused by burning of straws and stovers (especially paddy straw), methane production by

livestock (causative agent of global warming) and excessive excretion of N, P and that of K (soil

and water pollutants) can be reduced to a great extent by improving their utilization in the diet of

ruminants.

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Summary and Conclusions

The comparative analysis of NATP and non-NATP streams has brought that the non-NATP project

had better fund utilization position as compared to NATP projects. Hence, it was suggested that

funds should be released in the beginning of financial year and provide more financial powers to

the PI’s for effective and speedy utilization of the budget. Though more administrative/financial

powers have been accorded to scientists under NATP stream yet more serious efforts need to be

put in this direction especially on the effective implementation aspects of powers, delegated to PI’s

under NATP for efficient management of the research projects. With the provision of Human

Resource Development (HRD) component in research project under NATP, the mobility of

scientists within the country has increased. Scientists have been able to interact more with their

peers, which helped in technology designs and dissemination. Hence, much more provisions need

to be made for national/international trainings in the research projects for better exposure of the

scientists to conduct research more meticulously. Not even a single computer/photocopier has been

purchased under non-NATP during the study period while in case of 33 per cent NATP projects,

the research facilities in terms of computer and photocopier etc. was augmented. Hence, more

funds for research infrastructure development needs to be provided in all the research projects.

The better emphasis on the multi-institutional kind of projects has been observed under NATP

stream as compared to non-NATP. Hence, the involvement of various related -institutions need to

be encouraged for more meaningful and relevant research outputs. Research productivity in terms

of research papers has been found better in case of non-NATP projects as compared to NATP

projects during the study period. The reason may be that NATP has started only recently and the

research output requires bit longer time to appear in the form of publications in journals. The

research contribution in terms of proceedings of seminar/workshop/conferences at National level

as well as in the form of technical research reports were definitely better in NATP stream as

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compared to non-NATP stream during the period under study, Technologies developed by

scientists in terms of identification of improved varieties was less under NATP whereas with

respect to other aspects related to identification of intermediate products, development of

agriculture and livestock inputs and development of scientific methodologies, the performance of

NATP scientist has been much better than non-NATP scientists. This implies that research projects

with better infrastructure and with HRD as a separate component, are expected to yield better in

terms of research productivity and technology development.

Under NATP, a lot of electronic infrastructure has been created in terms of computers, printers,

photocopiers, LAN, Internet, multimedia, Fax and modernization of library (Automated

circulation, issue and acquisition system, computerized catalogue system, electronic data base

system) etc. to facilitate/improve productivity of scientists, students and supporting staff. Overall

impact of NATP on the library has been significant. The contribution in subscription of foreign

journals, CD ROM Databases, Online databases, Internet accessibility, procurement of hardware

and software etc. has not only enabled the Library to sustain its basic services like that of

providing research material in printed form to its users but also helped the library to step in the

new arena of computerization. The availability of electronic media has made the library services

expeditious and exhaustive.

The bed planting technology has been helpful in saving the various inputs, reduce the cost of

cultivation, increase yield and hence net returns to the farmers are increased. The quantity of inputs

such as seed rate, irrigation and fertilizers was reduced by 18.35, 32.75 and 4.97 percent

respectively. Expenditure on plant protection chemicals was decreased by 33.94 percent. The use

of machine labour was reduced by 4.08 percent and that of human labour was increased by 12.14

percent. The overall cost of cultivation was reduced by 8.28 percent. The grain yield was increased

by 3.36 percent resulting in increase in net returns by 10.09 percent. Environmental and some

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other impacts of the technology are that it is environment friendly technique because the use of

chemicals is decreased due to which it is helpful to check the environmental degradation and

protects domestic insects and animals. It conserves our natural resources like water, fuel etc.

Impact of NATP on technological development has been significant. The various technologies

developed under NATP has been able to enhance the use efficiency of various farm resources such

as, seed, fertilizer, water and plant protection material etc. The technologies to some extent has

also been able to address the various social and ethical issues such as participatory approach to

dissemination activities, public/private partnership, drudgery/work load reduction, women’s

economic empowerment etc. The environmental issues like improved groundwater recharge,

conservative use of agro-chemicals, improving soil fertility and reducing deceleration of

underground water table etc were also adequately targeted.

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