Diffusion of Crossbred Cow Technology in Smallholder Dairy Sector in Sri Lanka

Crossbred cow technology is a potent innovation in the dairy industry in the developing world where a vast majority of producers is smallholders. Having animals with high yielding abilities has a marked impact on smallholder's income and thus their standards of living. In this research an attempt was made to study the variables affected on time taken for adoption of this technology, obtaining samples of data from selected regions of Sri Lanka. We employed a duration analysis and used four models frequently used in literature: the Cox, Exponential, Gompertz and Weibull Proportional Hazard models. We employed a duration analysis to examine the impact of important covariates on the speed of adoption of crossbreeds in the smallholder sector. Our sample comprised of 201 smallholder farmers selected from three major agro-climatic zones in the country. Empirical results highlighted the importance of human and social capital on accelerated adoption.