Author: Sanzidur Rahman
AIT Library Call Number: AIT Diss no. HS-98-02
Year: 1996
Academic Program: Human Settlement (HS)
Type: Thesis (Ph.D.) – Asian Institute of Technology, 1998
Examination Committee: Jayant Kumar Routray (Chairperson); A.T.M. Nurul Amin, Gopal B. Thapa, Gunner K. Hansen, PingSun Leung (Examination Committee Members)
Abstract: Widespread controversies exist on· the delayed consequences of technological change or ‘Green Revolution’ technology in agriculture largely due to the approach utilized in the evaluation process and the extent of issues covered. Early evaluations, focussing on issues of production, employment, and income only, failed to account for the delayed consequences of technological change on regional variations, gender equity, poverty and the environment. The present study employed a holistic approach to evaluate the impacts of technological change in agriculture, specifically, on productivity, employment, gender equity, income distribution, pove1ty and the environment at the local level and on regional development, aggregate crop production and foodgrain sustainability at the national level. The overall hypothesis is that though modern agricultural teclmology increased production, employment and income, it has exacerbated income inequality, poverty, gender gap in employment, regional disparity and environmental degradation and is threatening food production sustainability. In this context, the research is designed with a blend of economic (crop input-output), biophysical (soil fe1tility) and behavioral (farmers’ perception) analyses to capture the diverse issues (employment, income, income distribution, pove1ty and environment). Database of the study consists of time-series data for 47 years (1948 – 1994) and farm-level cross-section data of cropyear 1996 collected from three agro-ecological regions including soil samples from representative locations and information on infrastructural facilities. Economic principles and concepts are used as the basic tools of analysis and hypotheses are empirically tested using quantitative as well as qualitative techniques. The results of the analyses validated the concerns raised at the outset of the study. At the national level, though technological change played a significant role in raising regional agricultural development level, it has also contribute
Scholarship Donor(s): Government of Japan
Note: A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, School of Environment, Resources and Development
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