Effects of social capital on farmers’ choices of climate change adaptation behavior in Dazu District, China

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study explores the effects of social capital on farmers’ choices of climate change adaptation behavior in Dazu District, China. A total of 228 questionnaires were obtained from randomly sampled households. Social capital was divided into social networks, participation, reciprocity and trust. The adaptation behaviors in the study area were identified as crop adjustment, environmental improvement, financial management, and livelihood diversification. A boosted regression tree model was used to analyze the effects of different dimensions of social capital on farmers’ choices of climate change adaptation behavior. The results show that most farmers in Dazu District of Chongqing have adopted crop adjustment adaptation behavior. The social capital and socioeconomic characteristics of farmers have different impacts on different adaptation behaviors. Among social capital, the largest influence on climate change adaptation behavior is the degree of trust in the information of agricultural technology extension service centers, and the lowest influence is participation in rural cooperatives. In terms of socioeconomic characteristics, the largest impact on climate change adaptation behavior is agricultural income share, and the lowest impact is gender. The findings of this study can provide empirical support for governments to formulate effective policies to improve farmers’ climate change adaptation capabilities.