What Determines the Adoption of Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Practices Among Chinese Farmers? A Meta‐Analysis

Studies on farmers' adoption of agricultural nonpoint source pollution control practices typically focus on identifying the influencing factors, but often overlook inconsistencies in the findings and the role of spatial and temporal heterogeneity. To address these gaps, we conducted a systematic meta‐analysis of 109 empirical studies in China spanning from 2007 to 2025. We employed cumulative meta‐analysis to capture the dynamics of determinant–adoption relationships, and meta‐regression to quantify how regional and pollution contexts moderate these relationships. Our results indicate that government subsidies (effect size: 0.164) and perceived environmental benefits (0.335) are positively associated with adoption, whereas household income (−0.119) is negatively associated with it. The meta‐regression results also reveal significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity. Studies conducted in heavy‐metal‐contaminated areas report smaller effect sizes for government regulations and subsidies in relation to adoption. Regional differences are also pronounced, with studies conducted in western China reporting larger effect sizes for regulations and those in eastern China for perceived environmental benefits. Cumulative meta‐analysis further revealed that the pooled effect sizes for technical training decreased over time, while those for perceived environmental benefits increased. Overall, our findings underscore the inadequacy of one‐size‐fits‐all policies. Effective pollution governance requires spatially differentiated strategies tailored to specific pollution types and regional contexts, such as risk‐based compensation and green premiums.