College of Economics & Management, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China.
Hubei Rural Development Research Center, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 May;27(13):15211-15222. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-07973-4. Epub 2020 Feb 18.
In the context of zero chemical fertilizer growth, using organic instead of chemical fertilizers is the inevitable future of agricultural production, and social capital may be an important factor that affects whether farmers choose organic or chemical fertilizer. Based on a survey data from 1116 farmers in Hubei Province, this paper analyzes the influence of social capital and its three sub-dimensions (political identity, interpersonal trust, and relationship network) on farmer fertilizer choice. It also explores the mechanism and the degree of influence and examines how the primary effect differs across three sub-dimensions of social capital. The results show the following: (1) Social capital has a positive and statistically significant effect on the adoption of organic manure; (2) Three sub-dimensions of social capital promote the use of organic manure, although there are large differences in their degrees of influence. In detail, interpersonal trust had the greatest effect, followed by political identity, while relationship network was less effective; (3) Social capital has a positive influence on farmers' opportunity perception, risk aversion, production skills, and production supply, which further affect farmers' fertilizer choices. This paper enriches the research findings of social capital theory on the micro level of farmers' green production behavior. The conclusion is of great practical significance to activate the substitution of organic fertilizer for chemical fertilizer and promote the green transformation of agricultural development.
在零化肥增长的背景下，用有机肥代替化肥是农业生产的必然未来，社会资本可能是影响农民选择有机肥还是化肥的一个重要因素。本文基于湖北省 1116 户农民的调查数据，分析了社会资本及其三个子维度（政治认同、人际信任和关系网络）对农民施肥选择的影响。还探讨了机制和影响程度，并检验了主要影响在社会资本的三个子维度上有何不同。结果表明：（1）社会资本对有机肥的采用有正向且显著的影响；（2）社会资本的三个子维度促进了有机肥的使用，尽管其影响程度存在很大差异。具体而言，人际信任的影响最大，其次是政治认同，而关系网络的影响较小；（3）社会资本对农民的机会感知、风险规避、生产技能和生产供给有正向影响，进而影响农民的施肥选择。本文丰富了社会资本理论在农民绿色生产行为微观层面的研究成果。结论对激活有机肥替代化肥、促进农业发展绿色转型具有重要的现实意义。
