Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment ›› 2022, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (3): 308-318.doi: 10.19741/j.issn.1673-4831.2021.0142

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Impact of Social Interaction and Information Acquisition Ability on Farmers' Adoption Behavior of Rice-shrimp Co-cultivation Technology

XIAO Yu1,2, QI Zhen-hong1,2, XU Sheng1, YANG Cai-yan1,2, LIU Yu-xiao1,2   

  1. 1. School of Economics and Management, Huazhong Agricultural University/Hubei Rural Development Research Center, Wuhan 430070, China;
    2. Shuangshui Shuanglü Institute, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
  • Received:2021-03-10 Online:2022-03-25 Published:2022-03-23

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Abstract: As a typical ecological agriculture technology, the rice-shrimp co-cultivation technology is an important way to alleviate the deterioration of the ecological environment and ensure the sustainable development of agriculture. The item response theory (IRT) model was further used to measure the information acquisition capacity. On this basis, the Heckman model was further used to analyze the impact of social interaction and information acquisition capacity on farmers' adoption of the rice-shrimp co-cultivation technology by using 878 survey data in the Yangtze River Basin. And the mediating effect of the ability to obtain information was further discussed. The results show that:(1) The more channels that farmers used, the stronger their ability to obtain information. In the same number of channel combinations, the channels with higher discrimination could lead to higher information acquisition capabilities.(2) Social interaction, reciprocity and social norms could all encourage farmers to adopt rice and shrimp co-cultivation technology. Reciprocity also had a positive impact on the degree of adoption. (3) Information acquisition capacity had a positive effect on the decision-making and the degree of adoption of farmers' rice-shrimp co-cultivation technology. Social interaction can promote the adoption and decision-making of farmers through the ability to obtain information. While the reciprocity can be achieved through the ability to obtain information which could have an impact on the degree of adoption of the technology by the farmers. Therefore, it is necessary to build a multi-level technical information channel system, broaden the information network of farmers, establish a rural exchange platform to carry out rich rural cultural activities, and enhance the interaction of farmers and form emotional exchanges, and promote the normal operation of the "pay-reward" virtuous cycle system.

Key words: social interaction, information acquisition capacity, the rice-shrimp co-cultivation technology, adoption behavior, mediating effect

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