Psychological dimension of resource use in smallholder farming: Insights from credit access, landholding, and technology adoption in India

Despite extensive research on the economic determinants of agricultural productivity, limited attention has been given to how key farm resources shape the psychological orientation of cultivators toward crop productivity particularly in smallholder contexts. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating the influence of agricultural loans, landholding size, and technology adoption on cultivator psychology among small and marginal farmers in India. Drawing on Stress and Coping Theory, the study adopts a quantitative design using survey data from 500 farmers across twelve NITI Aayog-identified aspirational districts. The results reveal that technology adoption emerges as the strongest positive driver of cultivator psychology, followed by landholding size, while agricultural loans exert a modest but significant influence. Credit access enhances technology's benefits through a positive moderating effect, whereas the technology-landholding interaction indicates a negative influence, suggesting heightened psychological pressures when scaling technology without adequate institutional and operational support. The findings underscore the complex psychological dimensions of agricultural resource management, extending beyond conventional yield or income measures. These findings extend traditional economic models by emphasizing psychological well-being as a crucial mediator of productivity and highlight the importance of integrated policy frameworks that combine financial facilitation with technical and psychological assistance. This novel integration of resource-based and psychological perspectives offers actionable insights for enhancing farmer well-being and sustainable productivity in emerging economy settings.