IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i12p7166-d836506.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Agricultural Extension Services Improve Farmers’ Organic Fertilizer Use in China? The Perspective of Neighborhood Effect and Ecological Cognition

Author

Listed:
  • Dan Qiao

    (Management School, Hainan University, Haikou 570100, China)

  • Ningjie Li

    (Management School, Hainan University, Haikou 570100, China)

  • Li Cao

    (School of Finance, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China)

  • Desheng Zhang

    (Management School, Hainan University, Haikou 570100, China)

  • Yanan Zheng

    (School of Economics, Hainan University, Haikou 570100, China)

  • Tao Xu

    (Management School, Hainan University, Haikou 570100, China)

Abstract

Improving farmers’ usage of organic fertilizer is critical for the green and high-quality development of China’s agriculture. Based on 492 mango farmers’ survey data in Hainan Province, this paper uses an endogenous switching regression (ESR)model, empirically analyzes the impact of agricultural extension services on farmers’ willingness to use organic fertilizer, and further investigates the mediating role of ecological cognition and the moderating role of neighborhood effect in the influence mechanism. Results show agricultural extension services have a significant positive effect on farmers’ willingness to use organic fertilizer, ecological cognition has a partial mediating effect in the influence mechanism, which accounts for 17.84% of the total effect. The neighborhood effect has a positive moderating effect in the influence mechanism of ecological cognition on farmers’ willingness to use organic fertilizer. These results imply that agricultural extension services play a significant role in China’s sustainable agricultural development and by improving their awareness and taking advantage of the neighborhood effect, we can stimulate farmers’ willingness to green production. The study also puts forward policy recommendations on further promoting farmers’ use of organic fertilizer.

Suggested Citation

  • Dan Qiao & Ningjie Li & Li Cao & Desheng Zhang & Yanan Zheng & Tao Xu, 2022. "How Agricultural Extension Services Improve Farmers’ Organic Fertilizer Use in China? The Perspective of Neighborhood Effect and Ecological Cognition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-20, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:12:p:7166-:d:836506
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/12/7166/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/12/7166/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daxini, Amar & Ryan, Mary & O’Donoghue, Cathal & Barnes, Andrew P., 2019. "Understanding farmers’ intentions to follow a nutrient management plan using the theory of planned behaviour," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 428-437.
    2. Xinjian Chen & Di Zeng & Ying Xu & Xiaojun Fan, 2018. "Perceptions, Risk Attitude and Organic Fertilizer Investment: Evidence from Rice and Banana Farmers in Guangxi, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-14, October.
    3. Wydick, Bruce & Karp Hayes, Harmony & Hilliker Kempf, Sarah, 2011. "Social Networks, Neighborhood Effects, and Credit Access: Evidence from Rural Guatemala," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 974-982, June.
    4. Tesfamicheal Wossen & Thomas Berger & Salvatore Di Falco, 2015. "Social capital, risk preference and adoption of improved farm land management practices in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(1), pages 81-97, January.
    5. Pingping Fang & David Abler & Guanghua Lin & Ali Sher & Quan Quan, 2021. "Substituting Organic Fertilizer for Chemical Fertilizer: Evidence from Apple Growers in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-24, August.
    6. Li, Bowei & Shen, Yueqin, 2021. "Effects of land transfer quality on the application of organic fertilizer by large-scale farmers in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    7. Haixia Wu & Hantao Hao & Hongzhen Lei & Yan Ge & Hengtong Shi & Yan Song, 2021. "Farm Size, Risk Aversion and Overuse of Fertilizer: The Heterogeneity of Large-Scale and Small-Scale Wheat Farmers in Northern China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-15, January.
    8. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    9. Li, Jinze & Liu, Pei & Li, Zheng, 2020. "Optimal design and techno-economic analysis of a solar-wind-biomass off-grid hybrid power system for remote rural electrification: A case study of west China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    10. Kotchen, Matthew J. & Reiling, Stephen D., 2000. "Environmental attitudes, motivations, and contingent valuation of nonuse values: a case study involving endangered species," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 93-107, January.
    11. Anderson, Jock R. & Feder, Gershon, 2003. "Rural extension services," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2976, The World Bank.
    12. Ji, Chen & Jin, Songqing & Wang, Haitao & Ye, Chunhui, 2019. "Estimating effects of cooperative membership on farmers’ safe production behaviors: Evidence from pig sector in China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 231-245.
    13. Castillo, Gracia Maria Lanza & Engler, Alejandra & Wollni, Meike, 2021. "Planned behavior and social capital: Understanding farmers’ behavior toward pressurized irrigation technologies," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    14. Tsusaka, Takuji W. & Kajisa, Kei & Pede, Valerien O. & Aoyagi, Keitaro, 2015. "Neighborhood effects and social behavior: The case of irrigated and rainfed farmers in Bohol, the Philippines," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 227-246.
    15. Michael Lokshin & Zurab Sajaia, 2011. "Impact of interventions on discrete outcomes: Maximum likelihood estimation of the binary choice models with binary endogenous regressors," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 11(3), pages 368-385, September.
    16. Kehinde, Ayodeji Damilola, 2021. "Impacts of Farmers’ Participation in Social Capital Networks on Adoption of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in Nigeria," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315859, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. Cook, Brian R. & Satizábal, Paula & Curnow, Jayne, 2021. "Humanising agricultural extension: A review," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    18. Robert Evenson & Prabhu Pingali (ed.), 2007. "Handbook of Agricultural Economics," Handbook of Agricultural Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 3, number 1.
    19. Susan A. Brown, 2008. "Household technology adoption, use, and impacts: Past, present, and future," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 397-402, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Changhong Chen & Huijie Zhang, 2023. "Evaluation of Green Development Level of Mianyang Agriculture, Based on the Entropy Weight Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-22, May.
    2. Yuying Liu & Kaiyao Shi & Ziqi Liu & Ling Qiu & Yan Wang & Hao Liu & Xinhong Fu, 2022. "The Effect of Technical Training Provided by Agricultural Cooperatives on Farmers’ Adoption of Organic Fertilizers in China: Based on the Mediation Role of Ability and Perception," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-20, November.
    3. Sha Feng & Dandan Fu & Xinru Han & Xiudong Wang, 2022. "Impacts of the Extension of Cassava Soil Conservation and Efficient Technology on the Reduction of Chemical Fertilizer Input in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-13, November.
    4. Dan Qiao & Shuting Xu & Tao Xu & Qinchuan Hao & Zhen Zhong, 2022. "Gap between Willingness and Behaviors: Understanding the Consistency of Farmers’ Green Production in Hainan, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-18, September.
    5. Wen Xiang & Jianzhong Gao, 2023. "Do Not Be Anticlimactic: Farmers’ Behavior in the Sustainable Application of Green Agricultural Technology—A Perceived Value and Government Support Perspective," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-24, January.
    6. Wang Ge & Shiyun Zhang & Yan Lu & Jiyu Jiang & Hui Jiang & Xiaona Cheng, 2022. "Can Higher Land Rentals Promote Soil Conservation of Large-Scale Farmers in China?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-14, November.
    7. Jianhua Ren & Hongzhen Lei & Haiyun Ren, 2022. "Livelihood Capital, Ecological Cognition, and Farmers’ Green Production Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-16, December.
    8. Lin Meng & Wentao Si, 2022. "Pro-Environmental Behavior: Examining the Role of Ecological Value Cognition, Environmental Attitude, and Place Attachment among Rural Farmers in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-24, December.
    9. Rose Ingutia & John Sumelius, 2024. "Family Planning, Irrigation, and Agricultural Cooperatives for Sustainable Food Security in Kenya," Sustainable Agriculture Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, October.
    10. Xuezhen Xu & Fang Wang & Tao Xu & Sufyan Ullah Khan, 2023. "How Does Capital Endowment Impact Farmers’ Green Production Behavior? Perspectives on Ecological Cognition and Environmental Regulation," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-27, August.
    11. Xiaohong Zhou & Donghong Ding, 2022. "Factors Influencing Farmers’ Willingness and Behaviors in Organic Agriculture Development: An Empirical Analysis Based on Survey Data of Farmers in Anhui Province," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-21, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yuying Liu & Kaiyao Shi & Ziqi Liu & Ling Qiu & Yan Wang & Hao Liu & Xinhong Fu, 2022. "The Effect of Technical Training Provided by Agricultural Cooperatives on Farmers’ Adoption of Organic Fertilizers in China: Based on the Mediation Role of Ability and Perception," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-20, November.
    2. Li, Fuduo & Zhang, Kangjie & Ren, Jing & Yin, Changbin & Zhang, Yang & Nie, Jun, 2021. "Driving mechanism for farmers to adopt improved agricultural systems in China: The case of rice-green manure crops rotation system," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    3. Tang, Lin & Luo, Xiaofeng, 2021. "Can agricultural insurance encourage farmers to apply biological pesticides? Evidence from rural China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    4. Qian, Chen & Shao, Liqun & Chen, Haibin, 2022. "Understanding herdsmen's rangeland rent-in behaviour under current rural land tenure system of China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    5. Jinhua Xie & Gangqiao Yang & Zhaoxia Guo & Ge Wang, 2021. "Exploring the Influence Mechanism of Farmers’ Organic Fertilizer Application Behaviors Based on the Normative Activation Theory," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-18, October.
    6. Qianhui Ma & Shaofeng Zheng & Peng Deng, 2022. "Impact of Internet Use on Farmers’ Organic Fertilizer Application Behavior under the Climate Change Context: The Role of Social Network," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-19, September.
    7. Lucia Reisch & Clive L Spash & Sabine Bietz, 2008. "Sustainable Consumption and Mass Communication: A German Experiment," Socio-Economics and the Environment in Discussion (SEED) Working Paper Series 2008-12, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems.
    8. Dienes, Christian, 2015. "Actions and intentions to pay for climate change mitigation: Environmental concern and the role of economic factors," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 122-129.
    9. Li, Zhengtao & Hu, Bin, 2018. "Perceived health risk, environmental knowledge, and contingent valuation for improving air quality: New evidence from the Jinchuan mining area in China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 54-68.
    10. Ju Hyoung Han & Andy S. Choi & Chi-Ok Oh, 2018. "The Effects of Environmental Value Orientations and Experience-Use History on the Conservation Value of a National Park," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-17, September.
    11. Spash, Clive L. & Vatn, Arild, 2006. "Transferring environmental value estimates: Issues and alternatives," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 379-388, December.
    12. Ojea, Elena & Loureiro, Maria L., 2007. "Altruistic, egoistic and biospheric values in willingness to pay (WTP) for wildlife," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 807-814, September.
    13. Yong Liu & Jixin Yang & Guanghong Zhang & Xufeng Cui, 2024. "Driving factors of green production behaviour among farmers of different scales: Evidence from North China," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 70(10), pages 474-494.
    14. repec:ags:aare05:139316 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Litvine, Dorian & Gazull, Laurent & Dabat, Marie-Hélène, 2014. "Assessing the potential demand for biofuel by combining Economics and Psychology: A focus on proximity applied to Jatropha oil in Africa," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 85-95.
    16. Cicatiello, Lorenzo & Ercolano, Salvatore & Gaeta, Giuseppe Lucio & Pinto, Mauro, 2020. "Willingness to pay for environmental protection and the importance of pollutant industries in the regional economy. Evidence from Italy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    17. Maria Sabbagh & Luciano Gutierrez, 2022. "Micro-Irrigation Technology Adoption in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon: A Behavioural Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-19, June.
    18. Xin Deng & Lingzhi Zhang & Rong Xu & Miao Zeng & Qiang He & Dingde Xu & Yanbin Qi, 2022. "Do Cooperatives Affect Groundwater Protection? Evidence from Rural China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-14, July.
    19. Seng, Kimty, 2019. "The Poverty-Reducing Effects of Financial Inclusion: Evidence from Cambodia," MPRA Paper 95726, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 26 Aug 2019.
    20. Lijing Gao & J. Arbuckle, 2022. "Examining farmers’ adoption of nutrient management best management practices: a social cognitive framework," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(2), pages 535-553, June.
    21. Xin, Wang & Yanping, Song & Tan, Li, 2021. "Small farmer's planting confidence and willingness to pay for leguminous green fertilizer: environmental attributes perspective," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 25(1), August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:12:p:7166-:d:836506. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.