Abstract:
Smart farming technologies provide new means of improving the quality and efficiency of pig production, but their adoption is constrained by farmers’ resource endowments and human capital. Based on survey data from 346 pig farmers in Jiangsu Province, this study draws on the motivation-opportunity-capability theoretical framework to examine the relationship between digital technology access, different digital technology usage scenarios, and the adoption of smart farming technologies. The results show that: 1) digital technology access is significantly positively associated with the adoption of smart farming technologies, and this relationship is more pronounced for labor-saving smart farming technologies; 2) digital technology use promotes the adoption of smart farming technologies by enhancing farmers’ technological awareness, increasing the accessibility of technical services, and alleviating credit constraints; 3) the frequency of digital technology use in communication and interaction and agricultural production scenarios is significantly positively associated with the adoption of smart farming technologies, indicating that preferences for different digital technology usage scenarios may affect adoption outcomes; and 4) the interaction terms between digital technology access and years of education and between digital technology access and the number of technical training sessions are both negative, indicating a compensatory effect. Specifically, digital technology use can reduce inequalities in the adoption of smart farming technologies arising from differences in farmers’ human capital endowments. The findings highlight the need to consider both digital access conditions and users’ capabilities, provide technical information and services tailored to the needs of different farmers, promote smart farming technologies in a categorized and orderly manner, and improve the equity of benefits from digital technologies among farmers with lower levels of human capital, thereby avoiding a widening digital divide.