Impact of information acquisition on farmers’ willingness to recycle plastic mulch film residues in China

Abstract

Recently there has been an increasing concern about plastic mulch film pollution from agricultural production in China. Given the knowledge of plastic mulch film is information-intensive, the lack of information might be the primary constraint for farmers to adopt recycling practices. Additionally, the potential self-selection bias in the information acquisition process raises an empirical challenge in accurately estimating the impact of information acquisition and information intensity on farmers’ adoption behaviors. To this end, this study first creates a propensity-weighted sample and subsequently employs the multi-valued treatment effects model to analyze how information acquisition influences farmers’ recycling choices, using the sample data from Yunnan province China. The results indicate that information acquisition exerts a positive and significant impact on farmers’ recycling choices, where higher information intensity increases the likelihood of recycling plastic film residues. Understanding the role of information acquisition could assist policymakers in focusing on knowledge diffusion when designing programs to facilitate better management of plastic residues and other sustainable agricultural production practices.