Selective Adoption as a Strategy for Agricultural Development: Lessons from Adoption in S.E. Sri Lanka

Abstract

High-yielding varieties of paddy form one prong of a three-pronged attack on the problem of self-sufficiency in Sri Lanka. The other two prongs are increases in the area of paddy land and in the production of substitute food crops such as manioc and sweet potatoes. Although the desire for self-sufficiency has prevailed for many years, a new urgency has been induced by the worsening foreign-exchange position, and by steep rises in the prices of imported cereals, of other food commodities, and of agricultural raw materials. It is thus necessary to produce locally as many of these agricultural commodities as possible. This increases the competition for scarce resources, especially that for land. As a substitute for scarce land, HYVs assume a very significant role. Their importance may be considered with reference to food requirements and to the area of land required to produce them.