Diffusion of crossbreeding technology in piggery: A case of TD breed in Eastern region of India

The paper throws light on the genesis and diffusion of a new breed of pig developed and propagated in India. The breed named ‘T&D’ was developed by crossing and continuous selection of Tamworth with local indigenous (Desi) pig which is distinctively black in colour. The extent of dissemination of the technology was assessed through random selection and interviewing 240 farmers across four states of India. It was interesting to see color as a trait significantly influencing the choice of farmers especially among the tribal communities. The ‘T&D’ pig innovation has spread beyond its place of origin to distant places especially in Eastern and North eastern parts of India, where pork consumption is comparatively very high. The study revealed that due to desired innovation attributes like relative advantage, observability, cultural compatibility and trialability, there was faster rate of adoption of ‘T&D pig’. Favourable impact of adoption of ‘T&D’ pig innovation was observed in terms of guarantying farmers price premium, mitigating marketing uncertainty, reducing drudgery and compatibility with existing farming system.   Key words: Diffusion, adoption, crossbred pigs, India.