Biopesticides extension and rice farmers' adoption behavior: a survey from Rural Hubei Province, China

Although the beneficial effects of the agricultural extension of farmers' biopesticides adoption have been largely demonstrated, the questions of what approaches can better extend biopesticides and how to improve their effectiveness still need to be explored. In a survey of 1148 rice farmers in Hubei Province, China, the technology supply and demand theory is used to explain the low efficiency of biopesticides extension. The endogenous switching probit model is used to estimate the impact of biopesticides technology publicity, training, demonstration and subsidies on farmers' adoption. The results show that biopesticides extension can promote rice farmers' adoption probability by 10.3 similar to 11.7%. And technology demonstration is currently the best way to extend biopesticides. Moreover, inadequate supply and demand of biopesticides are important for explaining the inefficiency of biopesticides extension in China. Extending biopesticides is better for farmers with smaller scales, younger ages, and lower education and for those who are cooperative members. Therefore, we should not only actively conduct biopesticides demonstration but also more importantly induce farmers' biopesticides demand and secure the market supply of biopesticide products. These findings will provide useful guidance for biopesticides extension and pesticides reduction in China and other developing countries.

Automated summary

The beneficial effects of agricultural extension of biopesticides adoption have been demonstrated, but the effectiveness of extension still needs to be improved. A survey of rice farmers in China shows that biopesticides extension can increase farmers' adoption probability by 10.3 to 11.7%. Technology demonstration is currently the best approach for extending biopesticides. Inadequate supply and demand of biopesticides contribute to the inefficiency of extension in China.