Abstract
Lack of healthy rice seed is considered as one of the most important constraints to rice production
and productivity growth in Bangladesh. Healthy rice seed production and use are pre-requisites for
accelerated agricultural growth and this can play a leading role in bringing rural prosperity and
economic transformation. Therefore this study was carried out to generate information about
knowledge, adoption and economic profitability of healthy rice seed technology. Data were
collected from two different rice growing environments, such as Chuadanga and Gazipur. Primary
data from 120 respondents of Boro 2000 to T. Aman 2003 were used. While farmers' participatory
experiments over five rice growing seasons with the use of healthy seeds and farmers' saved seeds
were also conducted. Profitability and incremental net benefit analysis were done to estimate the
benefits of healthy rice seed. By discrete choice (Probit) model and censored (Tobit) regression
model were employed to identify the factors influencing the farmers' decision to adopt healthy rice
seed technology. Results showed that some agronomic, insect and disease variables were
statistically significant for healthy seed and farmers' saved seed plots in both the locations impling
that there was less insect and pest attack in healthy seed plots than in farmers' saved seed plots. The
results also revealed that rice yield and net benefit from rice production with healthy seeds were
higher than that with farmers' saved seeds. The per hectare incremental net benefit of healthy seeds
was estimated at Tk. 1699 and Tk. 1735 for Boro and Tk. 2244 and Tk. 2939 for T. Aman in
Chuadanga and Gazipur, respectively. Partial budget analysis showed that rice production with the
healthy seeds was found to be more profitable than that with the farmers' saved seeds in both Boro
and T. Aman rice seasons in two locations. Results of Probit and Tobit models indicated that in
both Chuadanga and Gazipur, use of healthy seeds depended on age, education, and farm income of
the household. Credit availability in Chuadanga and family size, extension contact, and farming
experience in Gazipur were the important factors affecting its adoption. Allen Partial Elasticities
were estimated for Boro and T.Aman rice for both the study areas. The estimated elasticities
showed that for one percent rise in own prices the demand for animal plus power, seed, fertilizer, irrigation and human labour would fall by 0.22, 2.1, 0.27, 0.17 and 0.05 percent, respectively.
Healthy seed price was highly elastic and the results showed that an increase in the price of healthy
seed would decrease its demand. The coefficients of cross price elasticities showed complementary relationships between land-animal plus power pair, land-seed pair, land-fertilizer pair, landirrigation pair, and land-labour pair. The results showed that if the use of land increased then use of fertilizer, animal plus power, seed, irrigation, and human labour would increase. In the T.Aman
season, own price elasticities of all the factors had the correct signs. Their elasticities showed that
in Chauadanga, with a one percent rise in own prices, the demand of land, animal plus power, seed, fertilizer, irrigation, and human labour in the T.Aman season would fall by 0.25, 0.28, 0.29, 0.26, 0.29, and 0.24 percent, respectively. In Gazipur, with one percent increase in price, demand for land, animal plus power, seed, fertilizer and human labour would fall by 0.26, 0.30, 0.28, 0.27, and 0.32 percent, respectively. The estimates on elasticity of substitution indicated that the best
substitutes are land-seed pair, land-animal plus power pair and land-labour pair in the Boro season.
In the T.Aman season, the best substitutes were found to be land-irrigation in Chuadanga and land- animal plus power, land-seed in Gazipur. However, it may be concluded that 10-15 % yield can be increased by the use of healthy rice seeds in different rice growing seasons