New and improved varieties for everyone? Gendered patterns of wheat varietal turnover among social groups in the Indian state of Bihar
For smallholder farmers in the Global South, rapid varietal turnover is an important means of coping with the risks arising from the spread of pests or diseases and for increasing crop yields. Varietal turnover in wheat systems in many states of India, however, is inadequately slow. At the same time...
| Autores principales: | , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Informa UK Limited
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173326 |
| _version_ | 1855529064926806016 |
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| author | Herforth, Nico Gartaula, Hom Nath |
| author_browse | Gartaula, Hom Nath Herforth, Nico |
| author_facet | Herforth, Nico Gartaula, Hom Nath |
| author_sort | Herforth, Nico |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | For smallholder farmers in the Global South, rapid varietal turnover is an important means of coping with the risks arising from the spread of pests or diseases and for increasing crop yields. Varietal turnover in wheat systems in many states of India, however, is inadequately slow. At the same time, the Indian wheat sector is characterized by deep-rooted social inequalities, pronounced by the social differentiation of wheat farmers, such as gender, caste or ethnicity, wealth, and their intersectionalities. This article asks whether these social groups are excluded from the adoption of new and improved wheat varieties. The study builds on household survey data collected from 759 wheat farmers in Bihar, one of the poorest states in India. Our findings demonstrate only small differences of varietal turnover across heterogeneous social groups of farmers. In particular, we find only small differences in varietal turnover between female-headed and male-headed households (albeit their already low levels of varietal turnover) and their intersecting social identities. However, marginalized caste farmers appear to be more disadvantaged, as they tend to cultivate older wheat varieties, which deserves closer attention from policymakers. We discuss important directions for future research on the gendered analysis of wheat-based cropping systems. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace173326 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Informa UK Limited |
| publisherStr | Informa UK Limited |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1733262025-12-08T10:11:39Z New and improved varieties for everyone? Gendered patterns of wheat varietal turnover among social groups in the Indian state of Bihar Herforth, Nico Gartaula, Hom Nath smallholders agricultural policies technology adoption wheat crop yield seed systems rural development agricultural extension social groups farmers India For smallholder farmers in the Global South, rapid varietal turnover is an important means of coping with the risks arising from the spread of pests or diseases and for increasing crop yields. Varietal turnover in wheat systems in many states of India, however, is inadequately slow. At the same time, the Indian wheat sector is characterized by deep-rooted social inequalities, pronounced by the social differentiation of wheat farmers, such as gender, caste or ethnicity, wealth, and their intersectionalities. This article asks whether these social groups are excluded from the adoption of new and improved wheat varieties. The study builds on household survey data collected from 759 wheat farmers in Bihar, one of the poorest states in India. Our findings demonstrate only small differences of varietal turnover across heterogeneous social groups of farmers. In particular, we find only small differences in varietal turnover between female-headed and male-headed households (albeit their already low levels of varietal turnover) and their intersecting social identities. However, marginalized caste farmers appear to be more disadvantaged, as they tend to cultivate older wheat varieties, which deserves closer attention from policymakers. We discuss important directions for future research on the gendered analysis of wheat-based cropping systems. 2025-01-15 2025-02-21T07:43:52Z 2025-02-21T07:43:52Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173326 en Limited Access Informa UK Limited Herforth, Nico, and Hom Nath Gartaula. New and improved varieties for everyone? Gendered patterns of wheat varietal turnover among social groups in the Indian state of Bihar. Gender, Technology and Development (2025): 1-20. |
| spellingShingle | smallholders agricultural policies technology adoption wheat crop yield seed systems rural development agricultural extension social groups farmers India Herforth, Nico Gartaula, Hom Nath New and improved varieties for everyone? Gendered patterns of wheat varietal turnover among social groups in the Indian state of Bihar |
| title | New and improved varieties for everyone? Gendered patterns of wheat varietal turnover among social groups in the Indian state of Bihar |
| title_full | New and improved varieties for everyone? Gendered patterns of wheat varietal turnover among social groups in the Indian state of Bihar |
| title_fullStr | New and improved varieties for everyone? Gendered patterns of wheat varietal turnover among social groups in the Indian state of Bihar |
| title_full_unstemmed | New and improved varieties for everyone? Gendered patterns of wheat varietal turnover among social groups in the Indian state of Bihar |
| title_short | New and improved varieties for everyone? Gendered patterns of wheat varietal turnover among social groups in the Indian state of Bihar |
| title_sort | new and improved varieties for everyone gendered patterns of wheat varietal turnover among social groups in the indian state of bihar |
| topic | smallholders agricultural policies technology adoption wheat crop yield seed systems rural development agricultural extension social groups farmers India |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173326 |
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