The Adoption of Tubewell Technology in Pakistan

The use and adoption of indivisible techndogy are notrestricted by ownership or class structure. We have found, however, thatin 1972,-and still in 1980, though tubewells were owned by a minorfraction of total farm househdds (and predominan tly by the large andmedium farmers), they were used by a substan tial proportion of farmhouseholds. Predictably, .the user-owner ratio was the highest in thecase of the small farmers in all provinces. The relative importance ofthe small and medium farmers as owners of this techndogy increased overthe period, particularly in the Punjab where tubewells are concentrated. The development of a hire market in tube well services has ~venbirth to a new entrepreneurial class in the rural areas. Inequalities inrural income are dwindling and benefits emanating from n\lW technologyare shared. These conclusions are of vital importance because theynegate the existing views and show that (i) the indivisibility oftechnology has not been a barrier to its adoption, and that (ii) thefact that the share of the small and medium farmers in the ownership oftubewells has increased gives support to the thesis that if a technologyis profi table, farmers will adopt it where possible. Thus, the viewthat small farmers are conserva tive and resist change can no longer besustained Further, it shows that the small and medium farm sector, inparticular, holds the potential for investment in techndogy.