Internet-Based Information Acquisition, Technical Knowledge and Farmers’ Pesticide Use: Evidence from Rice Production in China

Shanshan Li, Shengyang Sun and Chao Zhang ()
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Shanshan Li: School of Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 102488, China
Shengyang Sun: Department of Economics Teaching and Research, Party School of the Central Committee of C.P.C (National Academy of Governance), Beijing 100091, China
Chao Zhang: School of Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 102488, China

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-14

Abstract: The overuse of pesticides has led to serious ecological and environmental degradation, largely due to the lack of effectiveness of agricultural-extension services. In recent years, an increasing number of farmers have tended to acquire technical information from the Internet. In this context, the present study analyzes the impact of Internet-based information acquisition on pesticide use and the mediating role of farmers’ technical knowledge. For this purpose, the treatment-effects model and survey data covering 1113 rice farmers in Guizhou, Hubei, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces in China were utilized. The results indicate that Internet-based information acquisition could significantly reduce the intensity of pesticide use by 2.036 kg/ha, accounting for the self-selection issue. Further analysis illustrates that farmers’ technical knowledge plays a significant mediating role in the negative impact of Internet-based information acquisition on pesticide-use intensity. In addition, the impacts of Internet-based information acquisition on pesticide-use intensity are heterogeneous across different education levels or rice-sown areas. Thus, the present study suggests that efforts should be made to accelerate the construction of rural information infrastructure networks to broaden smallholder farmers’ access to technical information from the Internet platforms, promote “Internet plus” agricultural-extension services, and improve farmers’ skills in using the Internet.

Keywords: Internet; information acquisition; technical knowledge; pesticide use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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