Actor-Networks and “Practices” of Development: Impact of a Weather Information System in West Bengal

In this paper, we leverage an actor-network theory approach to examine an information system that produces and disseminates weather forecasts and associated agricultural recommendations to small-scale and marginal farmers in two districts in West Bengal in India. We find an actor-network important in understanding technology-related social practices. The emphasis ANT places on the negotiations and contestations in the context of a technological initiative allows us to understand the mechanisms (rather than merely the outcomes) of such developmental interventions.