As a comprehensive technology with social, economic, and ecological benefits, integrated pest management (IPM) is crucial in fundamentally alleviating the environmental pollution caused by traditional high-input agriculture. Based on the random-sampled data of 981 farmer households in major Indica-rice-producing areas in Anhui Province, this study analyzes the impact of agricultural production knowledge on farmers’ willingness to adopt IPM technology through logit models, considering integrated knowledge and categorized knowledge. The results indicate that integrated agricultural production knowledge significantly increases farmers’ willingness to adopt IPM technology. However, pest-management knowledge was the only one out of four specific disciplines that significantly individually affect farmers’ adoption intention. The more knowledge farmers acquire about pest management, the higher intention they have to adopt IPM. Some demographic and household characteristics also significantly influence their willingness. Based on these results, we suggest that increasing farmers’ agricultural production knowledge, especially knowledge about pest management, is essential in promoting IPM technology. Besides this, IPM technology should be promoted purposely and consciously, combined with farmers’ individual and family characteristics.

The rapid development of the internet is affecting rural residents’ well-being profoundly in China. To empirically investigate the impacts of internet use on farmers’ subjective well-being, the latest version of the China Family Panel Studies data is utilized and multiple regression methods are employed. The results of the ordered logit model indicate that internet use positively affects farmers’ subjective well-being. Propensity score matching and endogenous switching regression are used to eliminate possible endogeneity and still reveal robust results. The frequencies of online study, online social interaction, and online entertainment are important channels influencing farmers’ subjective well-being. Furthermore, the impacts of internet use are heterogeneous. Internet users from the central and western regions have higher levels of subjective well-being than their counterparts from the eastern region. Young and middle-aged internet users are happier than the elderly ones. Therefore, the government ought to fully cover rural areas with the internet, eliminate the digital division, especially in Central and Western China, and pay more attention to internet use by the elderly.

Promoting sustainable agricultural development is pivotal to realizing sustainable development goals. This study initially constructs a comprehensive indicator to delineate the landscape of agricultural sustainable development (ASD) across China. While ASD in China demonstrates an upward trajectory, it remains relatively low and exhibits disparities across regions. Ensuring food security with minimal energy consumption in agriculture is particularly critical for China, and fostering access to affordable and clean energy services in rural areas is essential for expediting the transition to sustainable agriculture. This study investigates the impact of rural energy poverty (REP) on ASD across 30 Chinese provinces from 2000 to 2017, revealing that the eradication of REP yields tangible benefits for ASD. Furthermore, considering regional disparities, the elimination of REP significantly enhances ASD, particularly in non-major grain-producing areas compared to major grain-producing regions. These findings underscore the imperative of integrating efforts to alleviate energy poverty with initiatives aimed at advancing ASD. Such integration is indispensable for driving the overarching transition toward sustainable agriculture.