Influence Of Social Networks On Farmers’ Water-saving Irrigation Technology Adoption

A shortage of water resources and serious waste of agricultural-using waterare bottlenecks of Chinese food safety and agricultural reform. The promotion of water-saving irrigation technology in arid and semi arid areas is of great strategic significance. However, it appears to be many problems to promoting water-saving irrigation technology only rely on extension service. It has been reported that social networks has the functions of sharing technology information, reducing adoption risk. As another manner for farmers to obtain agricultural technology information, social networks can solve the problem of farmers’ technical needs, and remedy the defect of formal institution, thus playing significant roles in agricultural technology adoption. So, under the existing extension service system, how dose social networks affect farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoption? What is the relationship between social networks and farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoption? Whether the mediating effect is in the effects of social networks on famers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoption? As two major accesses to farmer’s agricultural technology information, what’s the relationship between social networks and extension service when improving the efficiency of technology adoption? The answers to these questions can help us widening the ways of extension services and providing a new thinking for agricultural technology promotion.Therefor, using the survey data of Minqin County, Gansu Province, according tothe consistent threadof the influence relationship, influence path and interaction influence of social networks effects famers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoption, we analyze the impact of social networks on farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoption from both theoretical and empirical in this research. The mainly contents and conclusions of the research are as follows:Content 1: The identification, measurement and characteristics of farmers’ social networks.Based on the relevant materials on social networks, this section gives a definition on social networks, divides social networks on its foundation, forms an index system of social networks, measures social networks using factor analysis,and then gives a comparative analysis of the social networks of technology adopters and non adopters. The results show that social networks are the norms of information, trust and reciprocity in one’s daily life,which based on network resources, ensured by the rules and regulations formed in long-term group activities, maintained its operation by learning, interaction, reciprocity and trust of each members. It can be divided into four dimensions on its definition: learning, interaction, reciprocity and trust. After measuring the social networks of every household, we found that technology adopters’ social networks are always greater than those who did not adopt.Content 2: The status and problems of farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoption.In this part, the data source and surveys were described firstly. Then we analyze the current situation of farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoption of Minqin using descriptive methods, and propose the problems in the peasant farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology.The results show that farmers have strong knowledge of water scarcity; most of the farmers have a certain understanding of water-saving irrigation technology, farmers obtain technical information mainly through social networks and extension service. The main reasons why farmers refuse to adopt water-saving irrigation technology are land fragmentation, low rate of return on investment, and so on. There are currently 25.36% households did not adopt water-saving irrigation techniques because of many reasons. Farmers are the main serviceman of water-saving irrigation facilities, and the maintenance is not timely. The technology adoption changes little on irrigation expend, income, yield, but can save labor, save water resources, and reduce water disputes. At present, there are three mainly problems in the adoption of farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology, including technical limitations, management problem and farmers’ awareness.Content 3: The influencerelationship analyze between social networks and farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoption.This part first analyzes the influence of social networks and its four dimensions on farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoption theoretically, then explores the influence factors of water-saving irrigation technology adoption using OLS model and Tobit model, then tests the reverse U relationship between social networks and water-saving irrigation technology adoption using quantile regression, and finally threshold regression model is used to test the robustness of the results. The results reveal that the relationship between social networks and farmers’ adoption decision is inverted-U shape, that social networks gradually increase technology adoption rate in the early stage of technology adoption, and that the role of social networks is gradually decreasing when promoting adoption rate of the technology of farmers in the late stage. Various dimensions of social networks affect farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoption in different ways. Reciprocity has positive effect on farmers’ adoption decision, while learning, trust and interaction have reverse U relationship with farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoption decision.Content 4: Influence paths study of social networks on farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoption.This part first analyzes the influence path of social networks on farmers’ technology adoption theoretically, then tests the existence of mediating effect of social networks onwater-saving irrigation technology adoption, and finally decomposes the indirect effects with KHB Model and calculates the contribution of each mediate variables. The results indicate that social networks have a mediating effect on the farmer’s water-saving irrigation technology adoption. Social networks effect farmers’ technology adoption through direct and indirect ways. In indirect effects, social networks influence technology adoption through five mediate variables; they are income structure, income level, credit constraints, planting structure, and technology cognition.Content 5: The interaction effect study of social networks and extension service on the efficiency of farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoptionIn this section, we firstly introduce the current situation of Chinese agricultural extension service system and then analyze the role of extension service played in the process of farmers’ technology adoption. Finally, analyzes the interaction influence of social networks and extension service on the efficiency of farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoption using Tobit Model on the basis of measuring extension service with factor analysis and measuring the technology adoption efficiency with SFA Model. The results show the following: both social networks and extension service increase the efficiency of farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoption and it is substitution relationship between them. As for the four dimensions of social networks, learning, interaction, reciprocity and trust are all have significant positive effects on the efficiency of farmers’ water-saving irrigation technology adoption. And the relationship between learning and extension service is substitution,so as trust.