Abstract
Promoting agrochemical reduction is a prerequisite for high-quality development of agriculture. It is still controversial whether Internet use can reduce pesticide use. This study uses the survey data of 670 vegetable growers of two provinces in China, Shandong and Shaanxi. Probit model and bootstrap method were used to analyze the impact of Internet use in reduction of pesticide application by farmers. Shallow use and deep use of the Internet were taken into account. On this basis, multiple mediating effects were tested on the following three aspects: information acquisition ability, awareness of green production, and e-commerce sales capability. The study found that shallow use and deep use of the Internet have a significant direct impact on pesticide reduction by farmers. Information acquisition ability, awareness of green production, and e-commerce sales capability all play a significant positive mediating role in the deep use of the Internet affecting pesticide reduction. However, in the process of shallow use of the Internet affecting pesticide reduction, only the mediating effect of green production awareness is significant. Concurrently, compared with the shallow use of the Internet, the deep use of the Internet has a significant positive impact on rural groups with weak human capital and weak social capital.
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Notes
Data Source: “Digital in 2019” report jointly released by We Are Social and Hootsuite in January 2019.
Data Source: “45th Statistical Report on Internet Development in China” released by China Internet Network Information Center in April 2020.
Data Source: China Rural Statistical Yearbook (1992–2018) and FAO database.
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Acknowledgment
The authors are grateful to the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71933005) and the Research Project of Major Theoretical and Practical Issues in the Social Sciences Community of Shaanxi Province (2020Z028).
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Zhao, Q., Pan, Y. & Xia, X. Internet can do help in the reduction of pesticide use by farmers: evidence from rural China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 2063–2073 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10576-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10576-8