Abstract:
In the context of promoting agricultural green transformation and achieving the “dual carbon” goals, green production technology plays a vital role in ensuring cotton quality and safety as well as increasing farmers’ incomes. Based on micro-level survey data from 750 cotton farmers in Xinjiang’s main cotton-producing areas, this study employs Propensity Score Matching (PSM) to empirically examine the impact of adopting green production technology on household income, and further investigates its heterogeneity and underlying mechanisms. The results show that: 1) the adoption of green production technology significantly increases household income, with adopting households earning on average 0.276 more than non-adopting households, representing a 27.6% increase, or an average growth of about 2,760 yuan; 2) heterogeneity analysis indicates that this income-enhancing effect is more evident among medium-scale farmers, middle-aged farmers, and those in northern Xinjiang; 3) mechanism testing reveals that green production technology contributes to income growth by improving farmers’ value perceptions in four dimensions, namely perceived input costs, perceived willingness of others, perceived access to resources, and perceived technical training. Based on these findings, this study proposes policy implications including strengthening government guidance and support for green production technology, establishing refined mechanisms to help farmers realize its benefits, and building a precise and diversified system for green technology promotion.