• Household internet quality boosts farmers' pro-environmental behaviors. • Ecological risk perception mediates 28.3 % of internet's effect on behaviors. • Effects vary by ethnicity, cooperative membership, and prior knowledge. • A village-level digital index serves as instrumental variable for causality. • Digital tools complement but do not replace traditional drivers. This study investigates the impact of household internet use on farmers' pro-environmental behaviors, with a specific focus on the mediating role of ecological risk perception and the heterogeneity of effects across different farmer subgroups in Southwest China. Utilizing data from the China Rural Revitalization Survey (CRRS) comprising 562 farming households, this research employs a Probit regression model to analyze the relationship between household internet use and PEBs. A mediation analysis framework is implemented to quantify the role of ecological risk perception, and heterogeneity tests are conducted to examine effect variations based on ethnicity, cooperative membership, green food knowledge, and food safety concern. The key findings are: 1. Household internet use exhibits a significantly positive effect on the adoption of PEBs. 2. Ecological risk perception acts as a partial mediator, confirming a significant cognitive pathway. 3. Pronounced effect heterogeneity is observed: the impact is significant for Han Chinese farmers but non-significant for ethnic minorities; it is stronger for non-members of agricultural cooperatives compared to members; and it is more substantial among farmers with prior knowledge of green food and those concerned about food safety. This study contributes to the theoretical framework of digital environmental governance by validating a mediated mechanism and provides evidence-based insights for designing targeted digital interventions to promote sustainable agricultural practices, particularly within the Global South context.
Wei He (Sun,) studied this question.