A special lecture delivered to trainees of an ICAR sponsored Summer School

1. Drivers of Agriculture
Technology Adoption
Dr. MOHAMMAD ASLAM ANSARI
Professor - Agriculture Communication
G. B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology
Pantnagar-263145, Uttarakhand

3. Innovations in Agriculture
Technology
 Smart Power systems: For automotive and analyzing operations
 Precision Agriculture Tools: Crop Sensors, Drones
 Farm Management software: For decision making on real time data
 IoT: IT based Solutions and Solution Providers: Helps farmers
in plan, monitor and analyze all farm activities;
 RFID, Big Data Analytics: data-driven decision making for improving
productivity and profitability
 Use of GPS and Remote sensing in Agriculture
 Use of Biotechnology/ Nanotechnology in Agriculture
 Use of Artificial intelligence in Precision Agriculture: for
predictive analytics

4. Innovations in Agriculture Technology Applications

5. What is ADOPTION?
 According to Everette M. Rogers, “Adoption is the mental process through which
an individual passes from hearing about an innovation (Awareness) to
final adoption (Actual Use)”
 Diffusion and Adoption of an innovation: A research paradigm
 Diffusion – A community wide process whereas Adoption is a process occurs at
individual level
 An innovation diffuses within a social system through its adoption by individuals
and groups

6. Stages in Adoption Process: (Rogers, 1963)

7. Stages in Adoption Process: (Rogers, 1963)
These five stages are not necessarily a rigid pattern which people follow.
 These stages are influenced by cultural differences and social factors as
well as by the kind of practice , place and person.
 At any stage the new technology can be rejected or thrown off.
 There can be jumping from one stage to another.
 If the farmers have confidence in the extension worker, and his
recommendations, they may jump form “evaluation” to “adoption”
stage.

8. Innovation Decision Process: (Rogers, 2003)

9. Technology Adoption:
 Defined as “Acceptance (mental) and Usage (actual) of a new Idea,
Product or Service”.
 Technology Adoption is basically a decision making process
involving socio-cultural, psychological and environmental factors.

10. Perceived Attributes of Technology

11. Technology Adoption: Mediator-Moderator Framework
(Vagani & Volpe, 2017; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijis.2017.10.001)

12. Adopter Categorisation
 INNOVATIVENESS is the basis of adopter categorization
Innovativeness is defined as the degree to which an idea/ product/
service is perceived to be new and superior to the existing
technology/ practice.
 Adopter is a person who adopts a technology before majority uses

13. Adopter Categories

14. Innovators: Venturesome (2.5%)
 They are also known as Tech. enthusiasts, the first people to
adopt a new idea, much ahead of other people in their social
system
 Eager to try new ideas; Have Risk bearing ability
 More cosmopolite social relationship
 They are hazardous, the rash, the daring, and the risky
 Willing to accept an occasional setback when one of the new ideas he
adopts proves unsuccessful

15. Early Adopters: Respectable (13.5%)
 They are ‘Localites’, Interacts more with local people than outside
their social system
 High on ‘opinion leadership’
 Are called as ‘Visionaries’; ‘People to check with regarding any new
idea
 Change agents consider them ‘Local Missionary’ actively
supporting change
 Hold ‘central positions’ in a social system

16. Early Majority: Deliberate (34%)
 Adopts a new idea just before the average member adopts it
 They are also called as “Pragmatists”
 Seldom holds leadership position
 Provide ‘inter-connectedness’ in system’s network
 Their motto: “Be not the first to try a new idea, but not the last to
lay the old aside”

17. Late Majority: Skeptical (34%)
 Adopt the new idea just after the average member of a social
system has adopted
 They are conservatives;
 ‘Safety-first’ approach in adopting new ideas
 Avers to risk taking and uncertainty
 Adopts the new idea just out of compulsion of being labelled
‘old, rigid and traditionalist

18. Laggards: Traditionalists (16%)
 They are Skeptics; last in a social system to adopt a new idea
 Most localites and traditionalists;
 interacts with those supporting ‘old values’
 Almost no opinion leadership
 “Past” is their point of reference
 Suspicious of innovations and change agents
 By the time they adopt an innovation, it may have been supersede
by a mor recent idea

19. The Chasm: Credibility Gap

20. Diffusion and Adoption of an Innovation

21. Drivers of Technology Adoption
 Socio-Cultural Drivers
 Psychological Drivers
 Techno-Economic Drivers
 Communication Behaviour Drivers
 Farm related Drivers
 Market related Drivers
 Policy related Drivers

22. Socio-Cultural Drivers of Technology Adoption
 Age Social conflicts
 Education Caste composition
 Family education Status
 Gender
 Value & Belief system
 Social Cohesion
 Social Participation
 Social Cohesiveness

23. Psychological Drivers of Technology Adoption
 Attitude towards Change
 Attitude towards Technology
 Intelligence
 Achievement Motivation
 Level of Aspirations
 Fatalism: Subjugation of everything on destiny

24. Techno-Economic Drivers of Technology Adoption
 Technological challenges and understanding
 Exposure to new and innovative ideas/ technology
 Off-farm income and employability
 Land holding
 Scale and Productivity
 Annual Income: On-farm and Off-farm
 Access to Credit & financial services
 Policy Advocacy and Support

25. Communication/ Media Drivers of Technology Adoption
 Mass Media Exposure and Use
 Media: Access, Availability and Affordability of media
 Information Seeking Behaviour
 Information Sharing Behaviour
 Localiteness-Cospoliteness
 Access to Extension Services
 Frequency of contact with Change Agents

26. CONCLUSION
 Agriculture remains the principal of economic growth in India. The current emphasis is to
increase agricultural productivity, production efficiency and farm profitability in a sustainable
manner
 Technological advancements and their adoption by the farmers is crucial for improvement in
agriculture sector.
 Continued investment in R&D and the commercialisation is necessary for realising the
developmental goals.
 But many technologies have not been adopted by the farmers for various reasons.
 This discussion on ‘drivers of technology adoption’ will help the researchers, policy makers and
corporates to plug the gap and layout the appropriate strategies to increase technology adoption.