Risk perception, risk attitude, and adoption of water-saving irrigation technology in China—from the perspective of risk reduction

Farmers can better withstand extreme drought risks by actively adopting water-saving irrigation technologies (WSIT). To increase farmers' adoption of WSIT, this paper, based on the survey data of 469 households in Heilongjiang Province, Liaoning Province, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from 2019, uses the Logit model to deeply explore the impact of risk perception and risk attitude on the adoption of WSIT by farmers from the perspective of risk reduction. First, using empirical analysis, this study examines the effects of technological risk perception, drought risk perception, and risk attitude on farmers' adoption of WSIT. Secondly, this paper further analyzes the differences in the adoption of WSIT among farmers of different scales. Finally, this paper explores how risk attitude moderates the relationship between risk perception and farmers' adoption of WSIT. The research results indicate that technological risk perception has a significantly negative impact on farmers' adoption of WSIT. Drought risk perception and risk attitude have a significantly positive impact on farmers' adoption of WSIT. The interaction term between technological risk perception and risk preference indicates that risk preference significantly weakens the negative effect of technological risk perception on farmers' WSIT adoption. Therefore, in promoting WSIT, efforts should be made to enhance the popularization of WSIT functions, improve the accuracy of risk perception, increase farmers' understanding of the drought-resistance function of WSIT, and alleviate their concerns about technical risks. Through the above methods, farmers are guided in actively adopting WSIT, thereby enhancing their ability to withstand extreme droughts.