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

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.

Automated summary

This study uses survey data from farmers in Sichuan Province to empirically analyze the mechanism of social learning on the adoption of green control techniques. The results show that social learning facilitates the adoption level of green control techniques by farmers, and environmental literacy plays a bridging role in this process. It is also discovered that a favorable market environment is conducive to the conversion of farmers' environmental literacy into green control techniques.