Based on the microdata of 11,547 farmers from the China Labor Dynamics Survey (CLDS) database in 2017, an ordered multi-classification logistic model was constructed to empirically test the impact of social capital (i.e., social networks, social participation, and social trust) on farmers’ willingness to adopt agricultural technology. The moderating effect of demographic changes (i.e., the number of instances of hukou migration) on social capital and farmers’ willingness to adopt new agricultural technology was further investigated. The results show that the following: (1) Social trust has a significant positive impact on farmers’ willingness to adopt new agricultural technologies, while social participation has no significant impact on farmers’ willingness to adopt new technologies. (2) Social networks influence farmers’ technology adoption behavior differently, e.g., the scope of relatives’ wedding gifts has a significant and positive influence on farmers’ technology adoption behavior, while the scope of non-relatives’ wedding gifts has no significant influence on farmers’ technology adoption behavior. (3) Demographic change plays a moderating role in the impact of social capital on farmers’ willingness to adopt new agricultural technologies. In other words, the greater the number of instances of hukou migration, the less the promoting effect of social capital on farmers’ willingness to adopt agricultural technology. (4) In the eastern and central regions of China, social capital has a significant positive impact on farmers’ adoption of new agricultural technologies. In the western region of China, social capital has a significant negative impact on farmers’ adoption of new agricultural technology. In the northeast region of China, social capital has no significant impact on farmers’ adoption of new agricultural technologies. Social capital and population changes are important factors that affect farmers’ willingness to adopt new agricultural technologies. Therefore, attention should be paid to cultivating and promoting farmers’ social capital to improve farmers’ willingness to adopt new agricultural technologies.

Climate change has significantly affected agricultural production. As one of China’s most important agricultural production regions, the North China Plain (NCP) is subject to climate change. This paper examines the influence of climate change on the wheat and maize yields at household and village levels, using the multilevel model based on a large panel survey dataset in the NCP. The results show that: (i) Extreme weather events (drought and flood) would significantly reduce the wheat and maize yields. So, the governments should establish and improve the emergency service system of disaster warning and encourage farmers to mitigate the adverse effects of disasters. (ii) Over the past three decades, the NCP has experienced climate change that affects its grain production. Therefore, it is imperative to build the farmers’ adaptive capacity to climate change. (iii) Spatial variations in crop yield are significantly influenced by the household characteristics and the heterogeneity of village economic conditions. Therefore, in addition to promoting household production, it is necessary to strengthen and promote China’s development of the rural collective economy, especially the construction of rural irrigation and drainage infrastructures.

The irrational application of chemical fertilizer affects agricultural land’s supply capacity and yield quality and may lead to serious agricultural non-point source pollution. Through scientific and accurate fertilization, soil testing and formula fertilization technology (STFFT) can effectively prevent excessive fertilizer use, improve its utilization efficiency, and have significant environmental and economic benefits. Based on evolutionary game theory, this paper constructed an evolutionary game model of farmers’ adoption of STFFT. We used a case study to reveal and verify the influence of farmers’ environmental values, information awareness, and social network on their adoption of STFFT and its mechanism. The findings were as follows: First, there are two optimal stable states in the evolutionary system; namely, all farmers adopt or do not adopt STFFT. Second, environmental values and information awareness positively correlate with farmers’ adoption of STFFT. Third, the strength of social networks can enhance the effectiveness of information awareness and environmental values, encouraging farmers to adopt STFFT. In addition, the social network plays a mediating role and moderating role in the influence of information awareness and environmental values on the farmers’ adoption of STFFT.

Green prevention and control technology (GPCT) represents an eco-friendly approach in agriculture, aimed at promoting sustainability by reducing farmers’ excessive use of chemical pesticides. Despite the Chinese government having made a large effort to promote the technology, the farmers’ utilization is still low in China, especially when no financial incentives are provided to farmers. This study took 642 farmer questionnaires in Hua county, China, to analyze the effect of information awareness on farmers’ adoption of GPCT. Our findings indicate that farmers’ information awareness is a significant factor in their decision to adopt GPCT. Furthermore, the underlying mechanisms of the influence of information awareness on farmers’ GPCT adoption have been studied. Mechanism analysis shows that farmers’ information awareness affects the adoption of GPCT mainly through social networks. Farmers’ environmental values significantly reinforce the positive influence of information awareness on GPCT adoption. In addition, the regression results from the sub-sample indicate that information awareness has a more pronounced marginal effect on GPCT adoption for farmers with long years of schooling and larger wheat cultivation areas. These results offer insights for promoting GPCT in developing nations.

As China is transferring from a centrally planned economy to a market economy, the land market becomes more active. With the rapid transition from an agricultural society to an industrialized society, both economic and social factors could influence the choice of land lease agreement. This paper investigates the choice behavior of land lease agreement based on the household data collected from the largest wheat-producing province in China, Henan province. The results provide strong evidence that economic interest plays a key role in the choice of land lease agreement. Meanwhile, the paper has also found that social relations still affect the choice of land lease agreement. To speed up the transfer of land use rights and scale of operation, this study proposes: reducing the land dependence of rural households; improving agricultural machinery and achieving farming mechanization; creating more non-farm work opportunities for rural laborers; promoting the citizenization of rural households; respecting farmers’ choice of contracts; and attaching importance to the role of social relations in farmland transfer.