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Changes in personal income are used as a major welfare indicator and as a means to
substantiate the impact on other welfare indicators (e.g., accumulation of wealth
and better nutrition).
Sample selection
Because of certain complexities at the Uva Paranagama site, a with and without
methodology was used. At the initial FSR site, more than 90% of the farmers grew a
short-duration rice variety and a third crop. This created a situation in which there
were hardly any nonadopters and, therefore, it was impossible to select a reasonable
sample of nonadopters. Therefore, another village (Medawala) about 10 km from
the FSR site was selected as the second (without) site. Medawala had similar
climatic and topographic conditions but had not been exposed to the FSR
technology.
Although the farnlers at the with site had been exposed to the FSR
technology, some (10%) had not adopted it. There were also farmers in the without
site who had observed the FSR technology and adopted it without persuasion from
outsiders. Farmers at both sites were categorized into two groups: adopters and
nonadopters. The adopters cultivated n short-duration rice variety and grew three
crops per year. The nonadopters cultivated long-duration rice and cultivated two (or
sonletin~es three) crops per year. In both groups, there were farmers to whom FSR
technology was formally introduced (the with-site farmers) and to whom formal
exposure was not given (the ~vitliout-site farmers).
Twenty-three farnlers from the with site and 14 farmers from the without site
cooperated with the data collection. Of the total number of farmers from the two
sites, 19 farmers were adopters and 18 farmers were nonndopters.
Analytical tools
As a preliminary analysis of farm productivity, simple arithmetic means of inputs
and outputs were compared between the two groups of farmers. Mean yields and
incomes from these crops for the two groups of farmers were compared using a
t-test. Whole-farm budgets for the three cropping seasons were coniputed to
compare the productivity for the three different crops.
To analyze structural changes in production activities, separate production
functions were estimated using ordinary least sqiiares for the two groups of farmers.
Changes in functional, and thereby personal, income distribution as a result of
structural changes in the production pattern were obtained using the accounting
method proposed by Herdt (1978). This analysis was conducted separately for three
cropping seasons as well as for the full-year production cycle.
Change in personal income was used as a major welfare indicator and as a
means to substantiate impact on other welfare indicators (e.g., accumulation of farm