Farmers’ Willingness to Adopt Low-Carbon Technologies: Exploring Key Determinants Using an Integrated Theory of Planned Behavior and the Norm Activation Theory Framework

Encouraging farmers to adopt low-carbon agricultural technologies is a vital strategy for addressing climate change and fostering a harmonious relationship between humans and nature. An initial step is understanding the formation of farmers’ willingness to adopt them. This study adopts an integrated theoretical framework combining the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Norm Activation Model to explore the determinants and formation process of farmers’ adoption intentions. Using survey data from 1008 farmers in Shandong Province, the study employs Structural Equation Modeling to empirically examine the influencing factors and mechanisms underlying farmers’ willingness to adopt low-carbon agricultural technologies. The results reveal that perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, and attitudes toward behavior serve as the critical external driving forces for the formation of adoption intention, whereas personal norms act as the core intrinsic motivation by fostering farmers’ sense of ecological responsibility. Multi-group analysis reveals socio-demographic heterogeneity: perceived control drives males and wealthier, less-educated farmers; subjective norms influence younger, educated groups; attitudes affect females and low-income farmers, while personal norms dominate among older farmers. Therefore, policy design should enhance farmers’ resource accessibility, strengthen social demonstration, and cultivate ecological ethics with tailored incentives, thereby promoting the widespread adoption of low-carbon agricultural technologies.