India, Jan. 28 -- Despite the potential for high economic returns, the adoption of climate-resilient rice varieties in India remains limited.

The varieties are particularly beneficial in drought and flood-prone areas.

But uptake is hindered by supply-side constraints and farmers' cautious approach to new technologies.

A farmer could gain Rs 17,540-47,160 per hectare by adopting different groups of climate-resilient rice varieties, yet their adoption remained sporadic and limited, according to a recent analysis by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The returns were the highest for drought-tolerant varieties, followed by aerobic varieties, salinity-tolerant varieties, submergence-tolerant varieties, biotic stress-tolera...