Research on the Impact of Internet Use on Rice Farmers'Income:Empirical Evidence Based on Information Acquisition in Production Process
Increasing farmers'income is the central task in addressing the"three rural issues"(agriculture,rural areas,and farmers)in China.The widespread adoption and application of the internet among agricultural stakeholders have gradually penetrated the entire agricultural production process,exerting a significant impact on farmers'income growth.Using a sample of 1110 rice farmers in Hubei Province,this study employs an endogenous switching regression model to investigate the impact of farmers'use of the internet to obtain information during production on their agricultural income.The results indicate that internet usage can promote an increase in farmers'agricultural income.The findings remain robust after using alternative modeling methods and different explained variables for re-estimation.Mechanism analysis reveals that internet usage enhances agricultural income by improving farmers'production efficiency,land productivity,and labor productivity.The income-increasing effect of internet usage is more pronounced for farmers with higher levels of human capital,larger scales of family-operated land,and higher initial agricultural income.The government should assist farmers in increasing their income through the internet by taking the following measures:continuing to accelerate the construction of digital villages,improving rural internet infrastructure,and promoting the widespread adoption and application of the internet among agricultural stakeholders;carrying out basic education and skills training,providing targeted information services to low-income groups,and promoting the dissemination of information resources.
internet usefarmers'agriculture incomeendogenous switching regression modelmediating effectsproduction process
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