This paper reviews from a micro-level perspective, the opportunities for increasing agricultural productivity in the large areas of Asia in a "post-green revolution stage of development," where modern rice and wheat varieties and moderate to high doses of fertilizer have already been widely adopted. Productivity increases in these areas from the spread of new varieties and increasing fertilizer use have now slowed. Continued rapid growth in productivity to exploit the genetic potential of modern varieties depends on more efficient use of available technology. Farmers increasingly use a wide range of "second generation inputs" such as secondary and micro-nutrients, pesticides, and increased dramatically due to interactions between a wider array of technological components and increased location specificity of the technology. The new technology is also more management intensive since it requires more information and skills for efficient use. In addition, increased multiple cropping, complex crop rotation effects and a rapidly changing technical and economic environment add further complexity to farmer management.

Text in English

fer|EP|fernando2000|EconomicsPubs|MIC 12114-R No. 10|3

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