Determinants of pesticide application: an empirical analysis with theory of planned behaviour
China Agricultural Economic Review
ISSN: 1756-137X
Article publication date: 27 July 2018
Issue publication date: 17 October 2018
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate farmers’ intentions to comply with pesticide application standards based on an extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB).
Design/methodology/approach
Built on a TPB framework, it was examined how perceived behavioural control (PBC), behavioural goal (BG), behavioural attitude (BA) and subjective norm (SN) influenced farmers’ intention to comply with pesticide application standards. Data of 986 farmers from five major agricultural provinces in China were collected following a stratified random sampling method. Structural equation modelling was employed for hypothesis testing and analysis.
Findings
The results showed that PBC, BG, behavioural attitude and SN had positive impacts on farmers’ intention in abiding by the standards. Among them in determining farmers’ intention towards compliance with pesticide application standards, farmers’ PBC was found to be the most influential factor, while SN was the least influential factor.
Originality/value
The results indicated that the traditional TPB constructs had significant correlations with farmers’ intention to comply with pesticide standards, demonstrating the applicability of the TPB in the understanding of farmers’ decision-making in a developing country context. It is suggested that psychological factors should be taken into consideration in studying farmers’ decision-making.
Keywords
Citation
Wang, J., Chu, M., Deng, Y.y., Lam, H. and Tang, J. (2018), "Determinants of pesticide application: an empirical analysis with theory of planned behaviour", China Agricultural Economic Review, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 608-625. https://doi.org/10.1108/CAER-02-2017-0030
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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