What determines the investment intention of Chinese farmers in green grain production?

To accelerate green development and promote harmonious coexistence between man and nature, China has vigorously promoted investment in green food production. In China, farmers are the core unit of grain production, and China's green food production is inseparable from the strong support of farmers. Based on the theory of planned behavior, the structural equation model and multi-group comparative analysis method were used to investigate the investment intention of 435 farmers in green grain production in Zhengzhou, Zhoukou, and Shangqiu, Henan Province, from the perspective of farmers' micro- and psychological levels. The results show that attitude and perceived behavioral control among farmers can significantly boost their intention to invest in green production through two different channels. Subjective norms, on the other hand, only indirectly affect farmers' intentions to make such an investment. At the same time, through multi-group comparative analysis, the study also verified that different variables such as gender, age, educational background, and family labor force have different degrees of influence on different hypothetical paths. Therefore, this study provides suggestions for sustainable green production investment development and has certain guiding significance for the follow-up work of government departments, relevant companies, farmers, scholars, and other relevant personnel.