Introduction Understanding the driving mechanisms of farmers' pro-environmental behavior is crucial for advancing agricultural green transformation and rural ecological revitalization. Identifying effective ways to translate farmers' environmental motivations into actual behavior remains a key challenge for sustainable agriculture. This study examines how agricultural products' ecological value perception (AEV) and self-efficacy (SE) are associated with farmers' pro-environmental behavior, with a particular focus on the mediating roles of ecological perception (EP) and acceptance of innovative productivity (AIP), as well as the moderating roles of AIP. Methods Grounded in social cognitive theory, technology acceptance model, and the value-belief-norm framework, this study constructs and tests an integrated mediation theoretical model of farmers' pro-environmental behavior. Regression analysis and Bootstrap method were used to analyze the data of agricultural production farmers in China. Results The results show that EP and AIP play a mediating role in the relationship between AEV and SE on farmers' pro-environmental behavior. In addition, AIP moderates the relationship between AEV and pro-environmental behavior. Specifically, the positive association between ecological value perception on pro-environmental behavior is weakened when farmers exhibit a higher level of innovative productivity acceptance. Discussion This study is based on the logical framework of “value perception → cognitive understanding → feasibility assessment → behavior”, and systematically expounds the formation mechanism of farmers' pro-environmental behaviors. The study reveals that the acceptance of innovative productivity has both mediating and moderating roles, deepening the theoretical understanding of the decision-making logic of farmers' environmental behaviors. The findings provide insights for designing targeted policies and interventions that promote environmentally friendly farming practices.
Zhou et al. (Mon,) studied this question.