How do peer effects affect the transformation of farmers' willingness and behavior to adopt biogas?

Encouraging rural populations to use biogas to alleviate energy shortages and solve environmental pollution is of tremendous practical relevance. Using survey data from 540 farm families in Sichuan Province, binary and multinomial logistic regression models were utilized to investigate the effects and mechanisms of peer effects of four types of peers (neighbors, relatives, affluent villagers, and village cadres) on farmers' willingness and behavior to use biogas, as well as the transformation of willingness and behavior. The research demonstrated that: (1) There were differences in farmers' willingness and behavior regarding biogas adoption, with 36.30% of farmers willing to adopt biogas, whereas only 19.07% of them acted. (2) The adoption of biogas by neighbors, relatives, affluent villagers, and village cadres had a significant and positive influence on farmers' willingness to use biogas, their user behavior, and the conversion of their willingness to behavior. (3) Farmers' perceptions of environmental benefits significantly mediate the relationship between peer effects and the transformation of willingness into behavior. The research findings provide crucial insights and recommendations for refining policies that promote clean energy like biogas, with the aim to facilitate farmers in transforming their willingness into actual behavior towards biogas adoption.

Automated summary

Encouraging rural populations to use biogas is significant for addressing energy shortages and environmental pollution.