Role of Social Learning in the Diffusion of Environmentally-Friendly Agricultural Technology in China

Reducing the use of chemical inputs is an urgent and challenging task in the transformation toward environmentally-friendly agriculture in China, especially when the efficacy of alternative control measures is not yet fully understood. Based on the data from 601 rice farmer households regarding their adoption of fertilizer- and pesticide-reducing technologies in Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces, this study investigated whether social learning can promote the diffusion of fertilizer- and pesticide-reducing technologies, and whether the role of social learning varies when the technologies differ. Empirical analysis using the spatial error model (SEM) showed that social learning positively affects the diffusion of ecological technologies, but the role of social learning varies when the technology characteristics differ. Learning from neighbors promotes the adoption of labor-intensive and high-skilled technologies, but this strategy does not work well in capital-intensive technologies. However, learning from demonstration significantly affected the diffusion of capital-intensive and high-skilled technologies, but did not work well for labor-intensive technologies.