The ox fall down: path-breaking and technology treadmills in Indian cotton agriculture

Although India’s cotton sector has been penetrated by various input- and capital-intensive methods, penetration by herbicide has been largely stymied. In Telangana State, the main obstacle has been the practice of ‘double-lining’, in which cotton plants are spaced widely to allow weeding by ox-plow....

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Hauptverfasser: Stone, Glenn Davis (VerfasserIn) , Flachs, Andrew (VerfasserIn)
Dokumenttyp: Article (Journal)
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 26 Apr 2017
In: The journal of peasant studies
Year: 2017, Jahrgang: 45, Heft: 7, Pages: 1272-1296
ISSN:1743-9361
DOI:10.1080/03066150.2017.1291505
Online-Zugang:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2017.1291505
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Verfasserangaben:Glenn Davis Stone & Andrew Flachs
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Zusammenfassung:Although India’s cotton sector has been penetrated by various input- and capital-intensive methods, penetration by herbicide has been largely stymied. In Telangana State, the main obstacle has been the practice of ‘double-lining’, in which cotton plants are spaced widely to allow weeding by ox-plow. Path dependency theory primarily explains the persistence of sub-optimal practices, but double-lining is an example of an advantageous path for cash-poor farmers. However, it is being actively undermined by parties intent on expanding herbicide markets and opening a niche for next-generation genetically modified cotton. We use the case to explicate the role of treadmills in technology ‘lock-in’. We also examine how an adaptive locked-in path may be broken by external interests, drawing on recent analyses of ‘didactic’ learning by farmers.
Beschreibung:Gesehen am 17.04.2020
Beschreibung:Online Resource
ISSN:1743-9361
DOI:10.1080/03066150.2017.1291505