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Abstract
Variations in agricultural productivity in different states across the country are mainly due to large
differences in the level of adoption of selected agricultural technologies and the underlying determinants
of adoption of these technologies. Agricultural technologies selected in this paper include high-yielding
varieties of seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, use of machinery, etc. The pattern of adoption has
been examined across the country based on the 54th round of NSSO dataset. The quantification of
adoption has been carried out for each state in the form of a novel ‘adoption index’. The relation
between adoption index and status of the infrastructure in the corresponding state has been examined.
The strong correlation between adoption index and composite index of infrastructure and development
has emphasized the need for improving infrastructure to increase adoption of improved agricultural
technologies, which would increase the value of per hectare crop productivity. The functional analysis
has revealed that infrastructures like electricity, irrigation, credit and extension organizations positively
influence the adoption of the improved technologies. The study has suggested that there is a need to
formulate policies which would help increase the availability of electricity, irrigation and institutional
credit and improve the access to the extension organizations for the adoption of improved agricultural
technologies and enhancement in productivity.