Deconstructing adoption intentions: Water-fertilizer technology in 629 households

Abstract

This study addresses the research gap in understanding the complex relationships influencing farmers' intentions to adopt new water-fertilizer technologies, particularly focusing on the interactions among these factors. The innovation of this research lies in the novel integration of Probit and adversarial interpretive structure models. This combination reveals detailed dynamics and influence rankings among factors, providing a layered understanding of their interactions. Additionally, the study bridges theory and practice by surveying 629 small-scale farmers. The analysis identifies education level as a key determinant, with each unit increase raising the likelihood of technology adoption by 6.2 %. Adequate wheat irrigation increases adoption by 11.8 %, access to extension personnel by 16.3 %, and agricultural income comprising over 50 % of household income by 20.6 %. These findings have practical significance for promoting sustainable agricultural technologies in arid regions, aiming to reduce water and fertilizer inputs while ensuring food security and minimizing production costs.