Impact of Livelihood Capital on the Adoption Behaviour of Integrated Agricultural Services among Farmers

Abstract

Based on the sustainable livelihoods framework (DFID) and the theory of farmer behaviour, this study uses data points from 505 field-based household surveys conducted by the group in Liaoning Province in 2021–2022 to investigate the impact of livelihood capital on farmers’ adoption of integrated agricultural services (IASs). Using the entropy method and the intermediary effect model, this paper tests the mediating effect of value perceptions on the path of influence. The findings of this study show that the adoption rate of IASs is low and that farmers lack sufficient knowledge of these services. Moreover, natural, human, and social capital significantly and positively effect farmers’ IAS application behaviour. Farmers’ perceptions of economic value and ecological value also have a mediating effect on their IAS adoption. Accordingly, this paper proposes the following recommendations: attention should be given to the cultivation and publicity of IASs, policy support for IASs should be strengthened, the level of farmers’ livelihood capital should be improved, farmers should be guided to break through the constraints of their current livelihood capital, and farmers’ value perceptions should be improved enough to encourage them to take the initiative to participate in these services.