The study establishes an important connection between farmers' concerns regarding sustainable farming and the adoption of improved technologies. Results from a formal on-farm survey and rapid rural appraisals conducted in a drought-prone area in central India confirm that: (1) farmers are well aware of the effects of intensive cultivation of cash crops, such as sugarcane or cotton in irrigated tracts, in terms of reduced yields and increasing use of inputs; (2) appropriate crop/varietal adoption and management practices are consciously implemented to maintain long-term productivity levels for existing and desired cropping systems; and (3) farmers are strive to increase or maintain soil fertility by including nitrogen-fixing legumes in crop rotations - in this case, short duration pigeonpea. Widespread adoption of short duration pigeonpea has made farming profitable in the short term - via cultivation of a second crop in the postrainy season - and farmers expect to sustain productivity in the long run via crop rotation to maintain soil fertility.