Farmers’ Adoption of Agricultural Nature-Based Solutions in Northeast China: An Extended Theory of Planned Behavior Approach

The academic field has limited studies on implementing nature-based solutions (NbSs) in Chinese agriculture, especially regarding households’ and farmers’ attitudes toward the acceptance of agricultural NbS technologies. Based on this, this study aims to fill this knowledge gap by examining the factors behind farmers’ agricultural practices of NbS adoption in Northeast China. Accordingly, this paper constructs an extended theoretical framework of planned behavior (TPB) and empirically tests it using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) on data from 298 farmers in Inner Mongolia. It was found that incorporating institutional trust (IT) into TPB improves the prediction of Chinese farmers’ intention to de-farm behavior. Unlike previous studies, this study identified two indirect pathways influencing farmers’ intention to adopt agricultural NbS technologies: from institutional trust through attitude to intention, and from institutional trust through perceived behavioral control to intention. The findings broaden the research perspective in this area, provide empirical evidence for the application of NbSs in agricultural practices in China and other developing countries, and demonstrate in practice that NbS has been promoted as an essential tool to maximize nature’s ability to provide ecosystem services and create direct economic benefits for farmers through increased yields and reduced costs.