Effects of social capital and technology cognition on farmers' adoption of soil and water conservation tillage technology in the Loess Plateau of China

From the aspect of regional differences, this paper investigated the impact of social capital and technology cognition on the adoption of soil and water conservation tillage technology in the Loess Plateau in China. We find social networks and social trust had significant impact on the adoption of contour tillage technology by farmers in Shanxi and Shaanxi. Social participation had a significant impact in Shaanxi, whereas social prestige had a significant impact in Gansu, and social norms had a significant impact on the adoption of contour tillage technology in the three provinces. Technology cognition played an intermediary role in the effects of social networks, social trust, and social norms on technology adoption in Shaanxi and Shanxi, and on the impact of social norms on technology adoption in Gansu. Considering social networks, the frequency of communication between farmers and villagers had the greatest impact on technology adoption in Shanxi and Shaanxi, while farmers' trust in villagers had the greatest impact on technology adoption in these two provinces. The participation in collective activities in the village had the greatest impact on technology adoption in Shaanxi. Furthermore as for social prestige there was little difference in the degree of impact of observation variables on technology adoption by farmers in Gansu. Finally, regarding social norms, the attitudes and behaviors adopted by relative's friends, and villagers in the village had the greatest impact.