The Limitations of HYV Technology in North Arcot District: the View from a Village

Abstract

The village that we call ‘Randam’ lies on a plain some 3 1/2 miles south-east of the market town of Arni (pop. 39,000), to which it is linked by frequent bus services on the main road only half a mile away (for general village statistics see chapter 15). Proximity to the town helps to account for some important characteristics: early electrification and installation of pump-sets (in 1951); intensive use of organic manure of urban origin, which — farmers believe — is a significant factor in raising their yields above those in remoter villages; the involvement of villagers in town affairs and commerce, which appears to have made capital available for investment in agriculture and enables the villagers to be generally well-informed about price movements.