The influence of intergenerational transmission of farming practices on organic fertilizer utilization willingness of rice producers

In view of family based farming in China, the influence of intergenerational transmission of farm operation on rice producers' attitude toward the use of organic fertilizer was studied. A survey was conducted in Hubei Province, and data obtained from 563 households were analyzed using Binary Logistic Model. The following observations were obtained:1) 52.93% of the rice producers surveyed were willing to use organic fertilizer. 2) The likelihood for a rice producer to use organic fertilizer decreased in a slope of 0.101 with the level of interactive transmission up one grade, but increased with the level of demonstrative transmission up one grade in a slope of 0.206; the influence of demonstrative transmission was enhanced by weakened interactive transmission. 3) Young and middle-aged producers were influenced by both demonstrative and interactive transmissions independently or jointly, while elderly producers were influenced mainly when the transmissions were presented interactively. 4) Producers' attitude was also affected by land fertility, education, income, perception of risks, and policy satisfaction. These observations suggested that a producer's adoption of environmentally friendly practices in agriculture such as using organic fertilizer could be fostered by magnifying the positive effect of demonstrative transmission of parents' behaviors, education, low risk technology introduction, and governmental support, thus promoting the application of green agricultural technologies, such as organic fertilizer.