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Abstract
We
examine
the
use
of
hybrid
rice
as
a
pro-‐poor
technology
for
subsistence
rice
farmers
in
South
Asia.
Hybrids,
for
which
seed
cannot
be
saved,
is
often
thought
to
be
ill-‐suited
for
poor
farmers.
However,
poor
subsistence
farmers
may
find
it
advantageous
to
produce
“sticky”
hybrid
rice
instead
of
generally
preferred
slender
open
pollinated
varieties,
even
though
there
is
little
market
demand
for
it.
We
use
two
separately
estimated
double
hurdle
models
to
model
the
decision
making
process
of
subsistence
rice-‐producing
households
as
they
allocate
their
land
and
consumption
bundle
between
hybrid
and
open
pollinated
rice
varieties.
We
find
that
relatively
rich
households
are
more
likely
to
adopt
hybrid
rice.
However,
contingent
on
adoption,
poor
households
allocate
a
higher
percentage
of
their
land
to
hybrids.
Moreover,
we
find
that
own-‐
produced
hybrid
rice
consumption
constitutes
a
higher
percentage
of
total
rice
consumption
for
poor
households
than
for
rich
households.