Impact of media channels and social interactions on the adoption of straw return by Chinese farmers

Burning crop straws in open fields presents a major threat to the environment in China. To mitigate this problem, numerous methods have been applied. Straw return provides an environmentally friendly and economically sustainable solution to this problem. However, straw return is not popular among Chinese farmers despite the government support for this practice. In this article, the effect of major information sources-media channels and social interactions-on the adoption of straw return. Specifically the interaction between these two information sources is evaluated using survey data from provinces of Hebei, Hubei and Anhui. The main finding is that receiving information from either source increases the probability that a farmer voluntarily adopts the practice of straw return and that the two information sources reinforce each other in promoting the adoption of straw return. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Straw return is an environmentally friendly and economically sustainable solution to the issue of burning crop straws in open fields in China. However, it is not widely adopted by Chinese farmers. The study finds that information from media channels and social interactions play a crucial role in promoting the adoption of straw return, with the two sources reinforcing each other.