Revealing the role of farmer-to-farmer extension in promoting sustainable agricultural practices in China: A case of rice-green manure rotation system diffusion

Due to the limited coverage of traditional training models, numerous farmers are unable to access related information of rice-green manure rotation system (RGMR) for the sustainable agricultural practice. Farmer-to-farmer extension (F2F), as an innovative agricultural extension mode, can involve as many farmers as possible by teaching technologies to a small number of farmers and then relying on their spread from farmer to farmer. This study thus explored the role of F2F in promoting RGMR diffusion by using multiple empirical analysis models based on a sample set containing 934 respondents. The study first found that F2F increased the probability of farmers’ adoption of RGMR by 22.5%, which fully validates the effectiveness of F2F. Then the differentiation of the effect of F2F across farmer individuals was explored, and it was found that this effect varies with individual education, political identity and business area. Another interesting finding was that the effectiveness of F2F diminishes with the extension of the information dissemination chain. Therefore, to make F2F play a greater role in sustainable agricultural practices, measures should be taken to curb information degradation. The scenario simulation results further showed that when the degradation rate of F2F was reduced by 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% respectively, the diffusion area of RGMR would increase by 18329 ha, 37106 ha, 55435 ha and 73765 ha, respectively, which will bring huge economic and ecological benefits. Finally, the mechanism by which F2F works more efficiently was revealed. It was found that improving farmers’ education level, expanding business area, and participating in village collective activities would contribute to the upgrading of F2F. The findings of this study help to booster public understanding of the agricultural information dissemination chain and guide policy makers to sustainably innovate agricultural extension systems. • ►The impact of farmer-to-farmer extension (F2F) on farmer RGMR adoption was explored. • ►F2F increased the probability of farmers’ adoption by 22.5%. • ►The effect of F2F varied by individual characteristics. • ►The effect of F2F diminished with the extension of the information dissemination chain. • ►Improving farmers’ education, expanding farmland business area, and participating in village collective activities contributed to the upgrading of F2F.