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11.8 Conclusion
It is a challenge to make a compelling case for technological
innovation as being driven solely by climatic factors because
India's rice production is framed within the context of other
changes that are part of its agricultural development. Yet, this
study recognises that climate is one of the most important fac-
tors that farmers in the country have to adjust to for their rice
production system. More importantly, this research uncov-
ers recent changes in rice production technology made at the
local level that is familiar with climatic constraints and local
knowledge that signifies the thrust of location-specific innova-
tion. Lack of data has been a major shortcoming in the effort
to establish an unambiguous empirical relationship between
climate and technologies—this is an open-research issue that
can be addressed with time. To partially compensate for this
shortcoming, a detailed review of case studies was provided as
a qualitative assessment of the development of climate-induced
innovations over the period of the study.
The findings from both the empirical and the qualitative
assessments indicate that India's research establishment is
engaged in and committed to the development of location-spe-
cific technologies that address the constraints of climate. Higher
rice productivity is not only seen in climatically favorable
regions but is also surprisingly observed in areas that are climat-
ically sub-optimal for rice production. The empirical analysis of
productivity convergence, even indirectly, implies that techno-
logical changes can be represented by examining the direction
of productivity over time and is an attempt to approximate the
ultimate impacts of climate-induced innovation in agriculture.
The development of technological innovations accompanied
by changes in agricultural policies may have been responsible
for higher rice productivity among the districts with marginal
climate. This assertion is supported by both the results of the
empirical analysis, showing evidence of productivity conver-
gence, and by the assessment of policies related to research and
development. The empirical analysis of productivity conver-
gence, even indirectly, implies that technological changes can
be represented by examining the direction of productivity over
time and is an attempt to approximate the ultimate impacts of
climate-induced innovation in agriculture. With respect to pol-
icy assessment, the new institutional framework exhibits change
in policies that facilitated greater engagement of relevant stake-
holders in the development and application of new technologies
in rice cultivation (e.g. PTD approach).
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