AUTHOR=Gong Wei , Ma Ruiyao , Zhang Haixia 

TITLE=Digital agricultural technology services and farmers’ willingness to choose digital production technology in Sichuan province, China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2024.1401316

DOI=10.3389/fsufs.2024.1401316

ISSN=2571-581X

ABSTRACT=Digital agricultural technology services play a significant role in the digitization process of agriculture in China. Based on micro-survey data of small-scale farmers in Sichuan Province, this study utilizes the OLS method and the mediation effect model to investigate the impact of digital agricultural technology services on farmers' willingness to adopt digital production technologies and its underlying mechanisms. The results indicate that digital agricultural technology services effectively enhance farmers' willingness to adopt digital production technologies, especially among those engaged in cooperative. Further analysis of mechanisms suggests that digital agricultural technology services influence farmers' choices of household production and management methods by expanding their information channels, enhancing their cognition of digital production technologies, and facilitating access to technology. Moreover, heterogeneous analysis reveals significant differences in the willingness of farmers with varying levels of digital literacy to adopt digital production technologies. Digital agricultural technology services have a more pronounced impact on the willingness of highly digitally literate farmers. These insights deepen our comprehension of the operational mechanisms of digital agricultural technology services in the context of agricultural development, and advocate for policy recommendations such as enhancing the supply of digital agricultural technology services, strengthening the role of new agricultural entities, improving farmers' digital literacy training, and enhancing policy support systems.