IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/endesu/v25y2023i11d10.1007_s10668-022-02618-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The influence of social learning on Chinese farmers’ adoption of green pest control: mediation by environmental literacy and moderation by market conditions

Author

Listed:
  • Dakuan Qiao

    (Sichuan Agricultural University)

  • Lei Luo

    (Sichuan Agricultural University)

  • Chenyang Zhou

    (Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University)

  • Xinhong Fu

    (Sichuan Agricultural University)

Abstract

Previous studies mainly focused on the effect of single social learning on farmers’ safety behavior and rarely explored the mechanism of social learning on green control techniques. Using survey data from 608 farmers in Sichuan Province, this paper empirically analyzes this mechanism. The results showed that the adoption of green control techniques in the sample area was not promising; although 94.41% of the surveyed farmers adopted the techniques, the average number of practices adopted was only 2.88 out of seven possible practices. Social learning facilitates the adoption level of green control techniques by farmers. From the marginal effect, the probability of “many techniques adopted” increased by 6.692% for each unit of increase in social learning. Moreover, it is also discovered that environmental literacy plays a bridging role in the process by which social learning influences the adoption level of green control techniques, i.e., social learning can act on the adoption level through environmental literacy. Finally, we found that a favorable market environment is conducive to the conversion of farmers’ environmental literacy into green control techniques. The facilitating effect of environmental literacy on the adoption level is further enhanced when there is improvement in access to materials need for such techniques, ease of selling produce, and price stability. This paper makes important additions to the research field of social learning influencing the agricultural technology adoption and is an extension of social learning theory with important implications for green agriculture.

Suggested Citation

  • Dakuan Qiao & Lei Luo & Chenyang Zhou & Xinhong Fu, 2023. "The influence of social learning on Chinese farmers’ adoption of green pest control: mediation by environmental literacy and moderation by market conditions," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(11), pages 13305-13330, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:25:y:2023:i:11:d:10.1007_s10668-022-02618-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-022-02618-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-022-02618-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10668-022-02618-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adnan, Nadia & Nordin, Shahrina Md & Ali, Murad, 2018. "A solution for the sunset industry: Adoption of Green Fertiliser Technology amongst Malaysian paddy farmers," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 575-584.
    2. Magnan, Nicholas & Spielman, David J. & Lybbert, Travis J. & Gulati, Kajal, 2015. "Leveling with friends: Social networks and Indian farmers' demand for a technology with heterogeneous benefits," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 223-251.
    3. Ariel BenYishay & A Mushfiq Mobarak, 2019. "Social Learning and Incentives for Experimentation and Communication," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(3), pages 976-1009.
    4. Maarten J. Voors & Eleonora E. M. Nillesen & Philip Verwimp & Erwin H. Bulte & Robert Lensink & Daan P. Van Soest, 2012. "Violent Conflict and Behavior: A Field Experiment in Burundi," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(2), pages 941-964, April.
    5. Takeshi Aida, 2018. "Neighbourhood Effects in Pesticide Use: Evidence from the Rural Philippines," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(1), pages 163-181, February.
    6. Jia, R. & Lu, Q., 2018. "Land Transfer, Collective Action and the Implementation of Soil and Water Conservation Measures in the Loess Plateau of China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277124, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Jeffrey H. Dyer & Wujin Chu, 2003. "The Role of Trustworthiness in Reducing Transaction Costs and Improving Performance: Empirical Evidence from the United States, Japan, and Korea," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(1), pages 57-68, February.
    8. Genius, Margarita & Koundouri, Phoebe & Nauges, Celine & Tzouvelekas, Vangelis, 2013. "Information Spillovers in Irrigation Technology Diffusion: Social Learning, Extension Visits and Spatial Effects," MPRA Paper 122342, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Margarita Genius & Phoebe Koundouri & Céline Nauges & Vangelis Tzouvelekas, 2014. "Information Transmission in Irrigation Technology Adoption and Diffusion: Social Learning, Extension Services, and Spatial Effects," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 96(1), pages 328-344.
    10. Valdivia, Roberto O. & Antle, John M. & Stoorvogel, Jetse J., 2012. "Coupling the Tradeoff Analysis Model with a market equilibrium model to analyze economic and environmental outcomes of agricultural production systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 17-29.
    11. Bradford L. Barham & Jean-Paul Chavas & Dylan Fitz & Vanessa Ríos-Salas & Laura Schechter, 2015. "Risk, learning, and technology adoption," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(1), pages 11-24, January.
    12. Willy, Daniel Kyalo & Holm-Müller, Karin, 2013. "Social influence and collective action effects on farm level soil conservation effort in rural Kenya," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 94-103.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Kazushi Takahashi & Rie Muraoka & Keijiro Otsuka, 2020. "Technology adoption, impact, and extension in developing countries’ agriculture: A review of the recent literature," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(1), pages 31-45, January.
    2. Fafchamps, Marcel & Islam, Asad & Malek, Mohammad Abdul & Pakrashi, Debayan, 2020. "Can referral improve targeting? Evidence from an agricultural training experiment," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    3. Wu, Haixia & Ge, Yan & Li, Jianping, 2023. "Uncertainty, time preference and households’ adoption of rooftop photovoltaic technology," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    4. Leonardo M. Klüppel & Lamar Pierce & Jason A. Snyder, 2018. "Perspective—The Deep Historical Roots of Organization and Strategy: Traumatic Shocks, Culture, and Institutions," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(4), pages 702-721, August.
    5. Yihan Chen & Wen Xiang & Minjuan Zhao, 2024. "Impacts of Capital Endowment on Farmers’ Choices in Fertilizer-Reduction and Efficiency-Increasing Technologies (Preferences, Influences, and Mechanisms): A Case Study of Apple Farmers in the Province," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-25, January.
    6. Hanna Freudenreich & Sindu W. Kebede, 2022. "Experience of shocks, household wealth and expectation formation: Evidence from smallholder farmers in Kenya," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(5), pages 756-774, September.
    7. Alison Andrew & Orazio Attanasio & Britta Augsburg & Jere Behrman & Monimalika Day & Pamela Jervis & Costas Meghir & Angus Phimister, 2020. "Mothers’ Social Networks and Socioeconomic Gradients of Isolation," NBER Working Papers 28049, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Seungki Lee & GianCarlo Moschini, 2022. "On the value of innovation and extension information: SCN‐resistant soybean varieties," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(4), pages 1177-1202, August.
    9. Islam, Asadul & Ushchev, Philip & Zenou, Yves & Zhang, Xin, 2019. "The Value of Information in Technology Adoption," IZA Discussion Papers 12672, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia, 2019. "Information exchange links, knowledge exposure, and adoption of agricultural technologies in northern Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 94-106.
    11. Li, Qi & Li, Kai, 2021. "Re-examining the Effect of Social Embeddedness on Technology Diffusion from the Perspective of Scale Differentiation— A Case Study from China," 2021 ASAE 10th International Conference (Virtual), January 11-13, Beijing, China 329394, Asian Society of Agricultural Economists (ASAE).
    12. Okello, Julius & Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia & Lagerkvist, Carl Johan & Rommel, Jens & Jogo, Wellington & Ojwang, Sylvester & Namanda, Sam & Elungat, James, 2023. "Social incentives as nudges for agricultural knowledge diffusion and willingness to pay for certified seeds: Experimental evidence from Uganda," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    13. Gulati, Kajal & Lybbert, Travis J. & Spielman, David J., 2017. "Diffusing to level fields: Evolution of laser land leveling technology markets in India," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258387, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Yaqin Ren & Hui Feng & Tianzhi Gao, 2023. "Risk Cognition, Social Learning, and Farmers’ Adoption of Conservation Agriculture Technology," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, August.
    15. Paul Christian & Steven Glover & Florence Kondylis & Valerie Mueller & Matteo Ruzzante & Astrid Zwager, 2022. "Do private consultants promote savings and investments in rural Mozambique?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(1), pages 22-36, January.
    16. Jean‐Paul Chavas & Céline Nauges, 2020. "Uncertainty, Learning, and Technology Adoption in Agriculture," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(1), pages 42-53, March.
    17. Mani Rouhi Rad & Taro Mieno & Nicholas Brozović, 2022. "The Role of Search Frictions and Trading Ratios in Tradable Permit Markets," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 82(1), pages 101-132, May.
    18. Guo, Zhangdong & Chen, Xiaoqi & Zhang, Yongwang, 2022. "Impact of environmental regulation perception on farmers' agricultural green production technology adoption: A new perspective of social capital," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    19. Mao, Hui & Chai, Yujia & Shao, Xiaoxuan & Chang, Xue, 2024. "Digital extension and farmers' adoption of climate adaptation technology: An empirical analysis of China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    20. Elisabeth SADOULET, 2016. "Review of Theories of Learning for Adopting," Working Papers P163, FERDI.

    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:spr:endesu:v:25:y:2023:i:11:d:10.1007_s10668-022-02618-7. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.