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Straw used to be an important raw material for heating, cooking, and raising livestock in rural areas. However, with the development of the economy, straw burning poses a great threat to the environment. Straw return is of great significance for realizing carbon peaks and carbon neutrality because of its ecological value and economic value. Based on the survey data of 540 households in Sichuan Province, China, the Probit model and CMP model are used to empirically analyze the influence of environmental policy on farmers' active straw return and its mechanism. The results show that: (1) 65.9% of farmers actively return straw to the field, and 34.1% of farmers passively return straw to the field. (2) environmental policies significantly promote farmers' initiative to return straw to the field, in which the influence of economic rewards and punishments is greater than that of administrative guidance. (3) Government propaganda and government training in government administrative guidance can promote farmers' active straw return by raising their awareness, with intermediary effects of 76.05% and 60.14%, respectively. (4) Female heads of households, high education level of heads of households, and high family income can also positively promote farmers' active straw return. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land certification and adjustment experience, which are of great significance to strengthen farmers' acceptance of the green production technologies (the GPTs), are important factors that affect the stability of land property. Based on the research data of 540 farmers in Sichuan, China, the probit model is used in this research to explore the effect of the land certification upon the GPTs acceptance of farmers and discuss the moderation effect of land adjustment experience (large-scale adjustment and small-scale adjustment). The results show the following. (1) Overall, 10% of the farmers have not obtained the certificates, 17% of the farmers have experienced small-scale land adjustment, and 3% of the farmers have experienced large-scale land adjustment. Meanwhile, 15% of the farmers have not adopted any the green production technologies (the GPTs), and the rest have adopted at least one green production technology. (2) Land certification affects farmers' acceptance of the GPTs in a significant way. (3) Small-scale land adjustment will weaken the role of land certification in promoting farmers' acceptance of the green production technologies (the GPTs), while large-scale land adjustment will not. (4) For farmers with large scale of land, low extent of land fragmentation, and high extent of dependence on agricultural income, land certification will positively promote farmers' decision making on whether to accept the GPTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous emphasis of the country on the construction of ecological civilization, promoting the utilization of straw resources has become an important measure to achieve green agricultural development. Based on the survey data of 540 households in Sichuan Province and under the guidance of the theory of planned behavior, this paper constructed the IV-Probit model to explore the impact of land transfer on the straw resource utilization of households. The results show that: (1) land transfer in and land transfer out can significantly promote the utilization of straw resources by farmers. (2) Heterogeneity analysis showed that land transfer in had a positive effect on crop straw utilization of the new generation and large-scale farmers. (3) Land transfer in can promote the utilization of straw resources by improving farmers' economic cognition and efficacy cognition; land transfer out can promote the utilization of straw resources by improving farmers' efficacy cognition. Accordingly, the government should improve the land transfer market, increase technology propaganda, and create an excellent policy environment to promote farmers' participation in straw resource utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural low-carbon emission reduction is an essential part of China's ecological civilization construction. Farmers' low-carbon agricultural technology (LCAT) adoption has become an important means to achieve agricultural low-carbon emission reduction. Based on the survey data of 1080 farmers in Sichuan Province, farmers' LCAT adoption has been empirically studied using the combined estimate conditional mixed treatment model (CMP). The results show that the use of the Internet will substantially promote farmers' low-carbon tillage technology adoption and low-carbon fertilization technology adoption but has no significant impact on farmers' low-carbon pharmaceutical application technology adoption, low-carbon irrigation technology adoption, low-carbon agricultural film recycling technology adoption, and straw recycling technology adoption. Mechanism analysis shows that Internet use mainly affects farmers' low-carbon fertilization technology adoption through economic benefit cognition and affects farmers' low-carbon tillage technology adoption through ecological benefit cognition. This study can enhance our understanding of the relationship between Internet use and LCAT adoption and serve as a resource for rural digital infrastructure development and LCAT adoption–related policy design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Encouraging rural residents to adopt biogas is of great practical significance in tackling environmental degradation in China. Based on the survey data of 540 rural households in Sichuan Province, China, this paper studies the peer effects of biogas adoption in rural households, focusing on the influence of relatives and friends on the biogas adoption behavior of rural households. According to whether there is a Chinese New Year visit, the relatives and friends of rural households are divided into strong ties and weak ties. The peer effects are further discussed from the perspective of strong and weak ties, and the probability score matching (PSM) method is used to correct the estimation errors that may be caused by selection bias. In addition, the study further revealed the internal mechanism of peer effects through heterogeneity analysis. The results found that (1) the adoption of biogas by relatives and friends significantly promotes the adoption of biogas in rural households. (2) Compared with relatives and friends who did not visit during the Chinese New Year (weak ties), relatives and friends who visited (strong ties) had a more significant impact on the biogas adoption behavior of rural families. (3) Farmer groups with lower education levels and farther from the market are more affected by the peer effects and are more likely to adopt biogas. The driving effect of biogas behavior choice of relatives and friends on biogas behavior decision of rural households can provide a reference for decision-makers to make relevant measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a discrepancy in opinions regarding the correlation between off-farm employment and the decrease in the usage of chemical fertilizers. This study considers the locational and structural attributes of non-agricultural employment within the labor force and employs the IV-Probit model to examine the causal factors behind farmers' decrease in usage of chemical fertilizers, using survey data from Sichuan Province. The findings suggest that: (1) Farmers in the plain area (Qionglai) tend to have an equal proportion of local and non-local employment; while farmers in the hilly area (Luxian) tend to have more local employment; farmers in the mountainous area (Nanjiang) tend to have more non-local employment. (2) Local employment has a negative significant effect on the decrease in usage of chemical fertilizers, while non-local employment has a positive significant effect on the decrease in usage of chemical fertilizers. (3) Economic differentiation and ecological cognition play a part in mediating effects on farmers' decrease in usage of chemical fertilizers behavior. (4) Further analysis shows that the negative effect of local employment on the decrease in usage of chemical fertilizers is stronger for women than for men, and the positive effect of non-local employment on the decrease in usage of chemical fertilizers is stronger for women than for men. In addition, the new generation of local employment had a significant negative effect on the decrease in the usage of chemical fertilizers. The new generation of non-local employment has a significant positive effect on the decrease in the usage of chemical fertilizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural disasters are increasing in frequency in China. Enhancing residents' livelihood resilience and adjusting their livelihood strategies have gradually become effective means of dealing with disaster risk. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore the livelihood strategies and livelihood resilience of rural residents in earthquake-stricken areas to help them cope with disaster risks. However, few studies have explored the correlation between residents' livelihood resilience and livelihood strategies from the perspective of residents' livelihood resilience. Based on a survey of 327 households in four districts and counties of Sichuan Province, China that were affected by the Wenchuan and Lushan earthquakes, we construct a framework for analyzing livelihood resilience and livelihood strategy selection. We comprehensively analyze the characteristics of livelihood resilience and livelihood strategy and explore their correlation using an ordinal multi-classification logistic regression model. The results show that: (1) Among 327 sample households, 90.21% were non-farming, 3.67% were part-time households and 6.12% were farming households. Residents' livelihood resilience is mainly based on their disaster prevention and mitigation capacity. (2) As far as the correlation between livelihood resilience and livelihood strategies is concerned, the stronger the buffer capacity in livelihood resilience, the more rural residents tend to engage in non-farming activities to obtain income. When other conditions remain unchanged, the logarithmic probability of choosing an agricultural livelihood strategy decreases by 21.814 for each unit of buffer capacity. From the perspective of residents' livelihood resilience, this study deepens our understanding of the relationship between livelihood resilience and livelihood strategy in earthquake-stricken areas. It also provides useful information for the formulation of policies to improve residents' resilience in disaster-threatened areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Straw returning to the field is considered a sustainable agricultural production mode that can be applied on a large scale. However, Straw returning to the field of Chinese farmers has the characteristics of "high willingness, low behavior". Based on the survey data of 540 farmers in the main rice-producing areas of Sichuan Province, from the perspective of the social network, this study theoretically analyzed the impact of the two most important roles in the farmers' social network - parents and friends, that is, intergenerational effect and peer effect on farmers' straw returning. The probit model was used for empirical testing, and further discussed the difference between the two effects under different natural resource endowment constraints. The results showed that: (1) Among the sample farmers, 61.5% of them used straw returning. (2) The intergenerational effect has an inhibitory effect on the straw returning to the field, and the peer effect has a promoting effect on the straw returning to the field, and the effect of the peer effect is greater than that of the intergenerational effect. (3) Under the constraints of natural resource endowments such as land topography, land area, and home location, the influence of generational effect and peer effect on straw return was different for different farmers. The findings of the study can help improve the policy of integrated straw utilization and promote cleaner rice production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important part of agricultural socialization services, outsourced machinery services are of great significance for promoting the green development of agriculture. Using the field survey data of 1080 rice growers in Sichuan Province, this paper empirically analyzes outsourced machinery services' impact and role path on farmers' green production behavior. Further, it analyzes the difference in influence from the perspective of group heterogeneity. The research results show that: (1) The outsourced machinery services significantly impact farmers' adoption of no-tillage technology, organic fertilizer application technology, and straw returning technology. The conclusion is still stable after considering endogeneity. (2) The outsourced machinery services indirectly affect farmers' green production behavior by promoting off-farm employment and expanding the scale of farmland. (3) The impact of outsourced machinery services on farmers' green production behavior is not significant in the male group and the group whose households own agricultural machinery. In conclusion, the study proposes to increase assistance to outsourced machinery services providers and encourage service entities to actively publicize and popularize green production technologies while providing services, to play an influential role in guiding and educating farmers. • Using PSM and treatment effect model to avoid self-selection bias. • Outsourced machinery services promote farmers' green production. • Off-farm employment and farmland scale are two mediator factors. • There is group heterogeneity in the impact of outsourcing machinery services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Straw return is a kind of agricultural cleaner production technology. It can not only reduce environmental pollution caused by straw burning, but also help to improve soil conditions. However, few studies focus on the impact of increasingly active land transfer on farmers' willingness to pay for straw return. This study had a theoretical framework for systematic analysis and based on data from 1080 households in Sichuan Province, China. The conditional value assessment method (CVM) was used to estimate the interval of farmers' willingness to pay for straw return, and IV-Probit and IV-Tobit models were constructed to control endogeneity and to explore the effects of land transfer on farmers' willingness to pay for straw return. The results showed that (1) only 37.69% of farmers were willing to pay for straw return, and the average amount of farmers' willingness to pay was 12.94–34.41 RMB/666.7 m2-season. (2) Land transfer, especially land transfer-in, increased farmers' willingness to pay and willingness to pay amount for straw return, but there were noticeable intergenerational differences and differences in land operation scale. (3) The perception of economic value and the perception of payment effectiveness play a positive mediating role. The conclusion provides reference for improving straw return policy and promoting agricultural cleaner sustainable production. It is suggested to encourage land contiguous circulation to promote land integration, and reduce the price of straw return. At the same time, farmers' correct cognition of straw return should be improved through extensive publicity, especially for the new generation and large-scale farmers. • Straw return has been popularized in China for more than 20 years. • Only 37.69% of farmers were willing to pay for straw return. • Land transfer increased farmers' willingness to pay and pay amount for straw return. • Farmers' perception of economic value of straw return should be improved. • The new generation and large-scale farmers need to be focused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]