Impacts of Technology Training Provided by Agricultural Cooperatives on Farmers’ Adoption of Biopesticides in China

Abstract

As pesticide abuse becomes increasingly serious worldwide, it is necessary to pay attention to the biopesticide adoption behavior of agricultural producers. It is worth verifying whether agricultural cooperatives, as training organizations sharing the same social network with farmers, can promote the adoption of biopesticides through their technology diffusion function. Therefore, based on survey data of 837 citrus producers in Sichuan Province, China, the IV-probit regression model and a mediation effects model were used to empirically test the impact of technical training on farmers’ adoption of biopesticides in addition to its mechanism, considering the farmers’ perception of technology as the mediation variable. The results show that (a) participation in technical training can significantly enhance the probability of the adoption of biopesticides; (b) farmers’ perceptions of biopesticides’ economic and health benefits play a partial mediating role in the relationship; and (c) technical training has more significant effects on biopesticides adoption behavior for a household with higher-educated household heads, lower household total income, and smaller household size, relative to their counterparts. This study provides evidence for establishing relevant policy to encourage the full adoption of the technical training function of agricultural cooperatives and popularize the use of biopesticides.