Research On The Adoption Of Water-saving Irrigation Technology By Farmers In Henan Province

The shortage of water resources and the waste of agricultural water have seriously restricted China’s food security and affected the process of agricultural modernization.As a major agricultural province,Henan Province is also a serious shortage of water resources,agricultural water waste phenomenon is very serious.In this form,agricultural water-saving is imperative.The adoption behavior of water-saving irrigation technology is not only the decision of individual farmers after judging,weighing cost and utility,but also restricted by social environment.Based on the micro-survey data of farmers in Henan Province,this paper explores the adoption intentions of water-saving irrigation technology by farmers as a behavioral contrast between adoption intentions and adoption behaviors,In the different areas,the classification comprehensively elaborates the adoption intention and the adoption behavior of the farmer,discusses the intention and the behavior contrast reason.It has certain reference value for the government to effectively carry out the popularization of water-saving irrigation technology and increase the enthusiasm of farmers to adopt water-saving technology.On the basis of summarizing the related research at home and abroad,this paper takes the theory of planning behavior,the theory of uncertain decision-making and the theory of technological innovation diffusion of farmers as the theoretical foundation,the main research contents are as follows:(1)The development of water-saving irrigation technology and the status of Water Resources Utilization and water-saving irrigation project in Henan Province are briefly described,which lays the background for the following empirical analysis.(2)Based on the survey data,a series of analysis and description are made from the farmers’ cognition degree,adoption intention,adoption behavior and adoption effect.The paper describes and analyzes the key factors(education level,risk preference)that affect farmers’ adoption intention,and the key factors(crop planting type,planting scale)that affect farmers’ adoption behavior.(3)Analyze the types of the deviation between farmers’ willingness to adopt water-saving irrigation technology and their adoption behavior,and describe the main factors(individual characteristics,family characteristics,resource endowment)that influence the willingness and behavior,discover the main reasons for the differences.Finally,based on the logit model,the influencing factors and direction of farmers’ adoption behavior are explored.The main conclusions are as follows:(1)The total water resources in Henan Province is short,the regional distribution is seriously uneven,and the water-saving irrigation area is increased,but the agricultural water is wasted seriously.(2)farmers obtain water-saving information mainly through their own relationship network and government promotion;farmers generally do not know enough about the water-saving subsidy policy.Farmers’ willingness to adopt water-saving irrigation technology is high,with 42% of them indicating that they are willing to adopt water-saving irrigation technology.The bigger the planting area of farmers,the higher the demand for water-saving technology.The actual adoption rate of water-saving irrigation technology is very low,only 16% of farmers have actually adopted water-saving irrigation technology.The difference of natural endowment in different regions results in different planting scale and crop type,and the farmers’ planting scale and crop type have significant influence on water-saving technology adoption behavior.(3)The types of difference between farmers’ willingness to adopt water-saving irrigation technology and their behaviors mainly include two types: voluntary choice(voluntary,no-behavior)and passive adoption(no-behavior,no-intention),the degree of part-time employment,the scale of planting and the economic development of the region will have a significant impact on the differences in willingness and behavior.The reasons for farmers’ willingness to adopt and lack of adoption behavior are poor universality of water-saving technology,low return rate of investment and inadequate implementation of government subsidy policy.In the logit model analysis,the farmer’s age,crop area,crop type,family income and the number of relatives and friends in the village have significant effects on the farmer’s adoption decision.Finally,according to the research conclusion and the existing problems,this paper puts forward the following policy recommendations: Widening the channels of technology dissemination,raising the awareness of water-saving farmers;optimizing water-saving technology to meet the actual needs of farmers;promoting Participatory Management of farmers,to ensure the effective operation of irrigation system,to create a good policy environment,and to accelerate the change of farmers’ water-saving willingness to water-saving behavior.