Determinants of adoption of multiple natural resource management practices: a case study from semi-arid tropics of Central India

Natural resource management is important for sustaining agriculture, especially in arid and semi-arid rainfed areas, yet the adoption of NRM practices have been generally low in developing countries like India. The present study, using cross-sectional data collected from 400 household with 1031 plots, examines the drivers of the adoption as well as intensity of adoption of multiple NRM practices in the semi-arid tropics of central India. Multivariate probit and Ordered probit model was the empirical framework used in this study. The results show that farmers' adoption of multiple NRM practices and their intensity of use depend significantly on factors such as education, household size, dependency ratio, income from off-farm sources, plot size, land ownership and access to training. The study reinforces Human Capital Theory by showing that both education and household attributes significantly influences the adoption of NRM practices within agriculture. It proposes that tailored interventions directed at educated households with substantial land holdings could expedite the uptake of NRM, particularly in resource-scarce semi-arid regions. This should be coupled with efforts to promote off-farm employment options and improve extension services.