农业科技服务促进了农户绿色生产技术采纳吗?——基于激励措施的调节效应

基于陕西省猕猴桃主产区的微观调查数据，采用倾向得分匹配法构建反事实框架，考察农业科技服务对农户绿色生产技术采纳的影响及激励措施的调节效应。结果表明：农业科技服务对农户绿色生产技术采纳具有显著而稳健的促进作用，且参与户的绿色生产技术采纳程度比未参与户高12.39%;基于供给主体差异视角，不同农业科技服务供给主体对农户绿色生产技术采纳的促进作用由大到小依次为政府部门、农业企业、涉农高校；农业科技服务对农户绿色生产技术采纳的影响存在绿色生产技术异质性与群组异质性；激励措施正向调节农业科技服务对农户绿色生产技术采纳的影响，调节效应依次为社会激励、市场激励、政府激励。     

SMALLHOLDER ADOPTION OF GREEN PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES ON THE NORTH CHINA PLAIN: EVIDENCE FROM SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BACKYARDS

● A systematical technology diffusion mode that can simultaneously achieve smallholders’ technology adoption to different scales was discovered. ● Collaborative, tree-shaped and jump-start modes are the main forms to promote technology diffusion. ● The combination of three modes above facilitates technology diffusion to different scales. ● The STB-based technology diffusion empowered smallholders through technology adoption. ● Trust is the key to promoting technology dependence and adoption among smallholders. Understanding the impact of agricultural socialized services on smallholder adoption of green production technologies and their mechanisms of action is of great importance for sustainability of farming systems. Currently, there were numerous related studies, but it is still unclear how to gradually achieve the diffusion of technological innovations on pilot sites to a regional level. To answer this question, this paper presents the pathways and mechanisms of green production technologies diffusion by comparing international typical service organizations or modes such as agricultural technology extension service centers (ATESC), farmer field schools (FFS), participatory technology innovation (PTI) and integrated colearning approach (ICLA), while taking Wangzhuang Science and Technology Backyard (WZ STB) in Quzhou, Hebei Province, China as an example. This research had three key outcomes. (1) The combination of collaborative, tree-shaped and jump-start diffusion modes promotes the diffusion of participatory technology innovation to different scales, such as farmers, villages and counties. (2) The three diffusion modes combine and expand the advantages of existing international modes. The collaborative diffusion mode not only provides full scope for the advantages of PTI, but also provides smallholders with service supply for the whole production period. The tree-shaped diffusion mode combines the advantages of FFS from point technology innovation to village diffusion, while achieving a full range of technical service support. The jump-start diffusion mode cannot only achieve large-scale technology diffusion like ATESC and ICLA, but also empower smallholders through adaptive technology innovation. (3) Trust is the key to promoting smallholder reliance on the science and technology provided by STB and to promote their adoption of green production technologies. Accordingly, the following policy recommendations were proposed: strengthen the combination of top-down and bottom-up technology innovation and diffusion models, establish an effective service communication platform and evaluation mechanism, and strengthen the linkage mechanism between socialized services providers and smallholders, which will provide a realistic basis for the national policy of targeted socialized services provision and promote smallholder adoption of green production technologies.     

A global systematic literature review on sustainable soil management practices (1994–2022)

Sustainable Soil Management Practices (SSMP) offer potential benefits while conserving natural resources. However, the low adoption of SSMP limits the achievement of their full potential. To examine the current state of knowledge on SSMP adoption and identify research gaps, we systematically reviewed 269 peer-reviewed publications pooled from Scopus, Web of Science and ScienceDirect, covering the period from 1994 to 2022. We assessed the temporal and spatial transitions of SSMP adoption and identified a broad perspective of 14 themes on SSMP adoption and highlight the research trends and gaps. Prior to 2010, research on SSMP adoption was concentrated on a few themes and has become diversified in later years, covering emerging themes such as climate change and use Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Publications on SSMP adoption exhibited a global distribution, with particular emphasis on the African continent due to the flow of donors' funds driven by severe soil degradation and limited use of improved technologies in Africa. Studies on minimum soil disturbance were prevalent worldwide, with the highest number of publications. Our findings also indicate a strong research collaboration between developed and developing countries, showcasing donor-driven collaborative efforts and mutual benefits across different regions. This review however highlights the limited inclusion of local knowledge in SSMP promotion and recommends a bottom-up approach for future initiatives. In the discussion section, different critical factors of SSMP adoption covering farmers' perceptions, climate change, policy impact and the use of ICT are discussed. These findings and identified research gaps are useful for further research and the development of sustainable soil management policies, programmes and projects.