Determinants of solar energy adoption and its impact on sustainable and low-carbon agriculture in Sindh, Pakistan

This study investigates the determinants of solar energy adoption among smallholder farmers and examines its impact on sustainable agriculture production in Sindh, Pakistan. It offers a novel contribution by simultaneously analyzing adoption behavior and its socioeconomic and environmental outcomes within an integrated smallholder farming context. Primary data were collected from 240 smallholder farmers, including 120 from each of the Tando Allahyar and Matiari districts, using a multistage sampling technique. To address endogeneity in adoption decisions, an Instrumental Variable Probit (IV-Probit) model was applied, complemented by a Probit model with endogenous regressors for robustness, and an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression model to assess the impact of adoption on agricultural income as a proxy for sustainable agricultural outcomes. The findings reveal that the farmers' links with the input dealers, higher levels of farmer education, and larger landholdings are the key positive determinants of solar energy adoption in agriculture. Furthermore, solar energy adoption combined with higher levels of education and prior training of farmers positively affects farm income. In contrast household size and access to credit are notably constrains. Relatively low adoption rate among farmers can be attributed to limited capital availability, high household expenditures associated with larger household size, and limited access to credit, which further compound this issue. Findings underscore the importance of solar energy in agricultural systems and call for targeted policies that strengthen institutional collaborations, access to credit, and invest in capacity building initiatives to accelerate adoption among smallholder farmers.