Rice is the leading cereal crop in Nepal and an important source of calories and plant protein. Despite the importance of rice, there are reports of widespread cultivation of older varieties with considerably large adoption lags. This warrants further investigation into the factors that influence rice farmers’ adoption decisions. Risk attitude is reported to be an important determinant of farmers’ decisions. However, in Nepal, evidence of the effect of risk attitude on the adoption of improved crop varieties is limited because this important factor is not considered in adoption studies. This article, therefore, connects field experiment, theoretical understanding of farmers’ risk attitudes and empirical models with the aim of investigating determinants of farmers adoption of improved rice varieties in Nepal. The results show that majority of farmers currently grow old varieties. The top four varieties—Sona Mahsuri, Sarju-52, Samba Mahsuri and Radha-4—have an average varietal release age of 27 years. By estimating a binary response regression model, this article shows that risk attitude is a significant determinant of rice farmers’ adoption decision. Specifically, the results show that risk-tolerant farmers have the lowest propensity to adopt new improved rice varieties. This article, therefore, highlights the importance of promoting holistic benefits over making risk-reducing attributes salient when new crop varieties are developed and disseminated to farmers.

水稻是尼泊尔主要的谷类作物，也是热量和植物蛋白的重要来源。尽管大米很重要，但有报道称广泛种植较老的品种但采用滞后相当大。这需要进一步调查影响稻农收养决定的因素。据报道，风险态度是农民决策的重要决定因素。然而，在尼泊尔，风险态度对采用改良作物品种的影响的证据是有限的，因为在采用研究中没有考虑这一重要因素。因此，本文将田间试验、农民风险态度的理论理解和实证模型联系起来，目的是调查尼泊尔农民采用改良水稻品种的决定因素。结果表明，目前大多数农民种植的是老品种。排名前四的品种——Sona Mahsuri、Sarju-52、Samba Mahsuri 和 Radha-4——的平均品种发布年龄为 27 年。通过估计二元响应回归模型，本文表明风险态度是稻农采用决策的重要决定因素。具体而言，结果表明，具有风险承受能力的农民采用新的改良水稻品种的倾向最低。因此，本文强调了在开发新作物品种并向农民传播时促进整体利益的重要性，而不是突出降低风险的属性。通过估计二元响应回归模型，本文表明风险态度是稻农采用决策的重要决定因素。具体而言，结果表明，具有风险承受能力的农民采用新的改良水稻品种的倾向最低。因此，本文强调了在开发新作物品种并向农民传播时促进整体利益的重要性，而不是突出降低风险的属性。通过估计二元响应回归模型，本文表明风险态度是稻农采用决策的重要决定因素。具体而言，结果表明，具有风险承受能力的农民采用新的改良水稻品种的倾向最低。因此，本文强调了在开发新作物品种并向农民传播时促进整体利益的重要性，而不是突出降低风险的属性。