Sher Ali, Mazhar Saman, Rahut Dil Bahadur, Azam Ali, Watto Muhammad Arif, Yuan Hongping
School of Management, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, P.R. China.
School of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 20;15(1):30538. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-16214-y.
This study explores the determinants of solar trolley adoption and its impact on farm and non-farm earnings using a cross-sectional dataset of 617 farm households from Punjab, Pakistan. We develop two models - a logit model and a Heckman two-stage model - to overcome potential endogeneity and selection bias. Interestingly, we find significant variations in solar energy utilization among farmers across the given scenarios - layman, efficient, and entrepreneurial - with those in the latter scenario achieving the shortest pay-off time of 1.72 years. Moreover, solar trolleys substantially enhance the productivity of intensively irrigated cereals, resulting in economic benefits of USD 193.80 and USD 134.90 per acre for rice and hybrid maize, respectively. Our analysis reveals that factors such as access to solar subsidy, solar information, smartphone ownership, livestock and tractor ownership, and groundwater table depth positively influence solar trolley adoption. The Heckman model demonstrates that access to solar trolley increases the likelihood of engaging in non-farm activities, with solar trolley ownership and access to solar subsidies contributing to non-farm income by 37.8% and 17.2%, respectively. After controlling for various characteristics at the farm, individual, and village levels, participation in self-help groups, access to skill development programs, proximity to towns, and paved roads were found to be factors that promote non-farm entrepreneurship in rural areas. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers aiming to promote agricultural solarization and enhance rural household livelihood options, food security, income, and resilience in wake of climate change. Agricultural policies focusing on agricultural solarization should provide the necessary amenities to facilitate entrepreneurship to achieve multiple sustainable development goals in rural and remote areas.
本研究利用来自巴基斯坦旁遮普省617个农户的横截面数据集，探讨了太阳能手推车采用的决定因素及其对农业和非农业收入的影响。我们开发了两个模型——一个逻辑模型和一个赫克曼两阶段模型——以克服潜在的内生性和选择偏差。有趣的是，我们发现在给定的场景（外行、高效和创业）中，农民之间的太阳能利用存在显著差异，后一种场景中的农民实现了最短的1.72年回报期。此外，太阳能手推车大幅提高了集约灌溉谷物的生产率，水稻和杂交玉米每英亩分别带来193.80美元和134.90美元的经济效益。我们的分析表明，获得太阳能补贴、太阳能信息、拥有智能手机、拥有牲畜和拖拉机以及地下水位深度等因素对太阳能手推车的采用有积极影响。赫克曼模型表明，使用太阳能手推车增加了从事非农业活动的可能性，拥有太阳能手推车和获得太阳能补贴分别使非农业收入增加了37.8%和17.2%。在控制了农场、个人和村庄层面的各种特征后，发现参与自助小组、获得技能发展项目、靠近城镇和有铺面道路是促进农村地区非农业创业的因素。这些发现为政策制定者提供了宝贵的见解，他们旨在促进农业太阳能化，并在气候变化的背景下增加农村家庭的生计选择、粮食安全、收入和恢复力。注重农业太阳能化的农业政策应提供必要的便利设施，以促进创业，从而在农村和偏远地区实现多个可持续发展目标。
