A hybrid modelling approach to understanding adoption of precision agriculture technologies in Chinese cropping systems

Wenjing Li,Beth Clark,James A Taylor,Helen Kendall,Glyn Jones,Zhenhong Li,Shan Jin,Chunjiang Zhao,Guijun Yang,Chuanmin Shuai,Xin Cheng,Jing Chen,Hao Yang,Lynn J Frewer

doi:10.1016/j.compag.2020.105305

Abstract

Precision agriculture has the potential to deliver improved and more sustainable food production. Despite the various Chinese policy initiatives to strengthen national food security, there is evidence that the adoption of precision agriculture technologies in China has been much lower when compared to other developed agricultural economies. This study therefore aims to explore factors that determine Chinese farmers’ adoption of precision agriculture technologies in cropping systems and to provide recommendations on technology promotion in the future. The current status of precision agriculture adoption by smallholder farmers within crop farming systems in the North China Plain was explored. An integrated model of “Adapted Unified Theory of Acceptance and Usage of Technology (AUT2)” was developed to explain individual farmers’ intention to adopt precision agriculture. 456 surveys were conducted via face to face interviews in the North China Plain and structural equation modelling analysis was used to estimate the proposed AUT2 model. The results showed that perceived need for technology characteristics (PNTC), perceived benefits, perception of the efficacy of facilitating conditions and perceived risks of adoption have significant impacts on farmers’ intention to adopt precision agriculture. The facilitating conditions (e.g. knowledge, resources and access to consultant services) were the best predictor improving Chinese farmers’ willingness to adopt these technologies. Policy makers and service providers need to consider these factors in the promotion of technologies.

Highlights

The increase in the global population, coupled with increasingly unstable commodity prices, has resulted in the need to improve the efficiency of food production to ensure equitable food security internationally
The results indicated that most item loadings were > 0.7 and significant at the 1% (p < 0.01) level
The results from this study showed that a moderate amount of variance (R2 = 0.42) in a farmer’s intention to adopt Precision agriculture (PA) technologies can be explained by factors identified in this study: technology characteristics, need characteristics, perceived need for technology characteristics (PNTC), perceived benefits, facilitating conditions and perceived risks

Summary

Introduction

The increase in the global population, coupled with increasingly unstable commodity prices, has resulted in the need to improve the efficiency of food production to ensure equitable food security internationally. Farm production in China benefited from increased pesticide use after 2004, when the government began to eliminate agricultural taxes on farmers, and introduced three subsidies (i.e. a direct payment for grain production, a subsidy for improved seed varieties and a partial rebate for farm machinery purchases) (Chen, Fang, and Gao, 2010). Technological improvements in agriculture have been required to drive sustainable advances in labour productivity, farm incomes, food security and general economic growth (Maertens and Barrett, 2012), whilst reducing negative agricultural environmental impacts. Benefits resulting from application of PA have been identified, and include the following, inter alia; increasing efficiency, productivity and profitability in field operations; enhancing food security; and minimizing the unintended impacts of inputs on agricultural production systems and environment (Jochinke et al, 2007; Brown et al, 2016; Talebpour, Türker, and Yegül, 2015)

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