Impact and Mechanism of Digital Information Selection on Farmers’ Ecological Production Technology Adoption: A Study on Wheat Farmers in China

Abstract

The application of ecological techniques by farmers is important for ensuring the environmentally sustainable advancement of the grain sector. Based on micro-level survey data from 921 Chinese wheat growers in the Hebei and Henan provinces, this study employed an endogenous switching probit model and counterfactual analysis to investigate the impact and mechanisms of digital information utilization on ecological production technology adoption. The results indicated that 43.87% of sample wheat farmers had a low level of adoption of ecological techniques. The utilization of digital information significantly promoted farmers’ adoption. If farmers who currently used digital information were to opt-out, the probability of their high adoption would decrease by 11.26%. The utilization of digital information significantly enhanced the adoption of ecological technologies through three mediating factors: technological cognition, production monitoring, and market channels. Therefore, it is imperative to encourage farmers to broaden their social networks and enhance their perception of the importance of digital information. Additionally, it is essential to promote the industrialization and scale operation of wheat production, direct policy subsidies towards new types of management entities, and ensure the accuracy of the supply of digital information for green production through multiple channels. Therefore, it is imperative to expand farmers’ social networks and leverage rural communities to increase their perceived importance of digital information. Governments should increase subsidies and promote the scale and industrialization of wheat production. Moreover, the accuracy of digital information supply for sustainable production should be promoted through digital learning platforms, production monitoring systems, and e-commerce networks.