Perception and adoption of a new agricultural technology in a developing country: A case of the axial-flow-pump Bangladesh

Adoption of new agricultural technologies is always at the center of policy interest in the developing countries. In reality, despite visible benefits of many of the new agricultural technologies, including machinery and management practices, farmers either do not adopt them or it takes a long time to begin the adoption process and scaling up. To enhance the provision of irrigation using surface water and to enhance irrigation efficiency, Bangladesh has been trying to introduce the Axial-Flow-Pump (AFP) appropriate for surface water irrigation, which can lift up to 55% more water, conditional on the water head, than a conventional centrifugal pump. Despite the visible benefit of AFP, the uptake of AFP for irrigation is low in the targeted zone of Bangladesh. The present study demonstrates that the new technology must be modified to adapt to local demand and specifications. Most importantly, the price of the new technology must be competitive with the prices of the existing available substitute technologies to ensure a rapid uptake and scaling up of a new agricultural technology.