Productivity and welfare impacts of sustainable intensification in rice-wheat crop rotations: Evidence from the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains

Sustainable intensification (SI) has been receiving policy attention for its potential to transform agri-food systems and improve rural livelihoods. However, little is known about how SI technology bundles influence system productivity, profitability and household welfare in the coupled rice-wheat crop rotations of the Indo-Gangetic Plains in South Asia. We investigate the combined impacts of direct seeded rice (mDSR) and zero-tillage (ZT) wheat on system productivity, profitability and household welfare in the rice-wheat system of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, India. Using a multinomial endogenous switching regression model to address selection bias, we find that the joint adoption of mDSR and ZT wheat significantly improves cropping system productivity by 19% (1148 kg per hectare), reduces production costs by 18% (US$ 159 per hectare), increases farm profits by 84% (US$ 502 per hectare) and raises household per capita income by 56%. However, these benefits are unevenly distributed, with poorer farms benefitting less from rice-wheat farming and more from off-farm income compared to richer farms. Our findings underscore the need for policy support to promote broader SI adoption and emphasise the importance of fostering off-farm jobs for equitable development.