Can digital literacy improve organic fertilizer utilization rates?: Empirical evidence from China

Since 2018, the Digital Village Construction project has been given much higher priority in Chinese rural revitalization. This paper studies the effects of digital literacy on the organic fertilizer utilization rates and explores the effectiveness of information. Using data from a field survey on 1585 vegetable growers in six main vegetable-producing provinces of China, we build Tobit model and endogenous switching regression model to do the empirical test. The results show that digital literacy and the effectiveness of information increase the organic fertilizer utilization rates by 6.5 per cent and 19.1 per cent, respectively. The moderating effect of the effectiveness of information is significant at 10% level. In particular, the treatment effects of digital literacy showed that when the farmers with low-level digital literacy switch to high-level digital literacy, the organic fertilizer utilization rates will be raised by 2.973 CHY (CHY is Chinese money unit. At current exchange rate of March 2024, 1 USD = 7.1982 CHY). And if the farmers with high-level digital literacy switch low-level digital literacy, the organic fertilizer utilization rates will decline by 1.546 CHY. The empirical findings of the current study provide guidelines for policy makers to improve the quality of information, carry out targeted digital literacy cultivation and promote the positive role of digital technology in improving organic fertilizer utilization rates. Overall, this study presents a better understanding of the actual impacts of farmers' digital literacy and digital technology in rural China, and provides valuable insights for other countries or regions that also engage in the improvement of digital literacy to promote the development of green economy.