Research On The Impact Of Government Incentive And Restraint Measures On Farmers’ Adoption Behavior Of Biopesticides

Under the background of constant threats to resources and environment,agricultural development is in urgent need of green transformation in order to solve the dilemma of "pollution first,treatment later".Among them,the use of biological pesticides is an effective way to achieve environmental protection,pesticide reduction and efficiency enhancement.Over the years,the government has issued a series of incentive and restraint measures to promote biological pesticides,but China’s bio-pesticide market still accounts for a relatively low proportion,presenting an embarrassing situation of "calling good but not peddling".So,have the government’s incentive and restraint measures promoted farmers to adopt biological pesticides? If they have a promoting effect,what is the mechanism? And how to exert their maximum effectiveness? Clarifying the above issues will help improve the long-term incentive and restraint mechanism,effectively promote farmers’ adoption of biopesticides technology,and promote the green development of agriculture.Based on this,this article uses 738 micro-survey data from Hubei and Henan Provinces to analyze the impacts of external incentives and restraints on farmers’ adoption of biopesticides based on government guidance and regulation.And then,according to the different characteristics of farmers,this article discusses the differences and reasons of the impact by various measures.On this basis,combined with the transmission path of "external information-individual cognition-behavioral decision",this article further explores the mediating role of farmers’ cognition in the effect of government incentive and restraint measures on the farmers’ adoption behavior of biopesticides.The research conclusions of this article are as follows:First,more than half of the farmers in the survey sample have adopted biological pesticides.Most of these farmers are willing to replace chemical pesticides with biological pesticides and implement the same pesticide application strategy on all their land.The implementation of various incentive and restraint measures in the survey areas is not high,but there is a positive correlation with the adoption behavior of farmers.In other words,the possibility of farmers to adopt biological pesticides increases with the increase of incentive and restraint.Second,technical training,government propaganda,government subsidies,production supervisio,government penalties can significantly increase the possibility of farmers’ adoption of biological pesticides,confirming that the government’s positive guidance and reverse regulations can promote the green transformation of farmers’ use of pesticides.Different incentive and restraint measures have different effects on the adoption behavior of biological pesticides,and the order of marginal effects is as follows: government penalties > government propaganda > technical training > production supervision >government subsidies.In addition,agricultural expenditure,labor quantity,crop variety,arable land quality,purpose of growing grain and production stability will also have significant effects on farmers’ adoption of biological pesticides.Third,for groups of farmers with different characteristics,government incentive and restraint measures have different effects on their adoption behavior of biopesticides.According to the education level,purpose of growing grain and production stability,this article conducts grouping regression among sample farmers.And it is found that government subsidies and production supervision are more likely to affect farmers with low education levels,while technical training has a more obvious effect on farmers with high education levels.All kinds of incentive and restraint measures can effectively promote the adoption of biological pesticides by farmers for marketing purposes;for farmers whose purpose is to produce rations,only government propaganda and government penalties play a role in their behaviors.The use of biopesticides by farmers with low production stability only depends on the intensity of government subsidies.And when farmers have a willingness to stabilize production,all the incentive and restraint measures are effective for their behaviors.Fourth,farmers’ cognition plays a mediating role in the effect of government measures on farmers’ adoption behavior,that is,incentive and restraint measures have indirect effects on the behavior of farmers’ use of biological pesticides through production cost cognition,expected benefit cognition,self ability cognition and ecological environment cognition.Moreover,different incentive and restraint measures have different action paths.Technical training affects adoption behaviors by changing self ability cognition.Government propaganda and government penalties affect adoption behaviors through the change of expected benefit cognition and ecological environment cognition.Government subsidies affect adoption behaviors through three paths: production cost cognition,expected benefit cognition and self ability cognition.In general,incentive measures not only directly affect the behaviors of farmers,but also have an indirect effect on their behaviors by changing their cognition.Restraint measures show the characteristics of mandatory,and the direct influence on farmers’ behavior is more significant.Based on the above conclusions,this article believes that suggestions should be put forward from three aspects: perfecting incentive and restraint measures,formulating differentiated promotion strategies and constructing multiple intervention mechanisms.One is to actively broaden the form of incentive measures,clarify the boundaries of restraint measures,form an effective incentive and restraint mechanism,and continuously optimize its structure to enhance the synergistic effect of incentives and restraints.Second is to combine the actual needs of farmers and the changes in psychological cognition,enhance the pertinence and effectiveness of measures through differentiated strategies,so as to stimulate farmers’ enthusiasm and endogenous motivation to use biological pesticides.Third is to attach importance to the complementary effects of other subjects on the behavior of farmers,and comprehensively guide and restrict farmers’ behaviors through the market,cooperative organizations and social environment.