Impact Effects of Cooperative Participation on the Adoption Behavior of Green Production Technologies by Cotton Farmers and the Driving Mechanisms

Abstract

Nudging the adoption of agricultural green production technologies (AGPTs) by cotton farmers is a practical need to implement the national “green development” strategy. Based on the micro-survey data of 502 cotton farmers, this paper empirically analyzed the influence and driving mechanism of cotton farmers’ participation in cooperatives on their adoption of green production technology from the perspective of their inner cognition and external regulation by using the propensity score matching (PSM) model and the intermediary effect model. The study found that (1) the importance of agricultural green production technology to cotton farmers was in the order of soil testing and formula fertilization technology, green prevention and control technology, deep tillage technology, water-saving irrigation technology, new variety technology, and straw-returning technology. (2) Participation in cooperatives can significantly improve the adoption of agricultural green production technologies by cotton farmers, with an increase of about 27.16%, and the improvement effect on technology-intensive production links is pronounced. (3) By improving the inner cognition and external regulation of cotton farmers, cooperatives can enhance the green endogenous power of cotton farmers, improve environmental external constraints, and become an intermediary path to guide cotton farmers to adopt agricultural green production technology.