How Does Trust Influence Farmers’ Low-Carbon Agricultural Technology Adoption? Evidence from Rural Southwest, China

Abstract

Carbon emission reduction in agriculture is an important link to achieving green agricultural development and a rural ecological environment, and Low-Carbon Agricultural Technology (LCAT) of farmers is an important means to achieve carbon emission reduction in agriculture. Based on data obtained from a survey of 540 farmers in Sichuan province in 2021, the Tobit model was used to empirically analyze the effect of trust on farmers’ LCAT adoption. The results show that (1) the trust level of farmers is high and the order is special trust > institutional trust > general trust. At the same time, the intensity of adoption of LCAT by farmers is not high, and the average number of LCAT adopted by each family is 1.13. Among them, straw-returning technology was adopted to a high degree, with 54.63% of farmers using it. (2) Farmers’ trust significantly enhances farmers’ LCAT adoption behavior, and the magnitude of the effect is characterized by specific trust > general trust > institutional trust chain. (3) Heterogeneity analysis shows that the influence of farmers’ specific trust and institutional trust in plain areas on the intensity of LCAT adoption is stronger than that of farmers in non-plain areas, and the influence of general trust of farmers in non-plain areas on the intensity of LCAT adoption is stronger than that of farmers in plain areas. The impact of specific trust, general trust, and institutional trust on LCAT adoption was stronger for the new generation of farmers than for the older generation of farmers. (4) Herding effect plays a mediating role in special trust, institutional trust, and LCAT adoption. This study can deepen our understanding of the relationship between farmers’ trust and LCAT adoption behavior, and then provide theoretical reference and practical basis for the promotion of LCAT and the improvement of farmers’ LCAT adoption level from the perspective of trust.