There is a growing concern about the sustainability of agriculture due to the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers in several parts of the world. In India, the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) is a region where the externalities of excessive use of chemical fertilizers for cereal production manifest in groundwater pollution, air pollution due to emissions, and soil degradation. In this context, we study the adoption of organic fertilizers in the region and the determining factors. We use data collected from 400 rice farmers to empirically test the link between farmers’ perceptions, revenue expectations, socioeconomic factors, and the policy environment to adopt organic fertilizers. We use Tobit and Cragg’s double hurdle model to study the farmers’ expenditure and adoption of organic fertilizers, respectively. The results show that only 32% of the farmers adopted organic fertilizers in the region. Further, membership in farmer organizations, training, and education are the key variables that determine the adoption of organic fertilizers, in addition to a positive perception of the benefits of their usage. The findings highlight the need for efficient extension efforts in organic fertilizers and suggest policy interventions that promote collective learning through farmer groups.
This research article attempts a bibliometric analysis of global research on biofertilizers carried out from 2000 to 2019. The main purpose of this analysis is in technology foresight; to understand where the research interest lies within the domain of biofertilizer and also to identify the major research networks. The analysis is based on 344 research articles identified using the ISI Web of Science tool, which is processed further using VOSviewer. The results demonstrated that there is an increase in the number of articles, particularly from countries like Brazil, India China, the USA, and Iran. The research focus has been on the assessment of nitrogen fixation capacity of biofertilizers, and the yield improvement due to biofertilizers, and the economics of biofertilizer application. Our findings can act as a useful reference for the researchers, and provide insights for directing future research on biofertilizers.
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