The effects of information acquisition channels on farmers’ adoption of production modes: Evidence from edible fungus growers in 11 provinces

Transforming the mode of growing edible fungus plays a vital role in improving the ecological environment, increasing farmers’ income and achieving rural vitalization. Based on a survey data of edible fungus growers from 11 main producing provinces in China and applying a Logit model and propensity score matching method (PSM), this study analyzed the effects of various information channels on farmers’ choosing behaviors between home-made sticks and industrial sticks. Results show that 70% of edible fungus growers prefer the mode of home-made sticks, while only 30% of farmers prefer industrial sticks. All information provided by telephone and television significantly promotes the probability of adopting home-made mode, while the effect of the internet is not significant. On the contrary, when the source of information is enterprises and cooperatives, growers are more likely to adopt industrial sticks. Besides, the impacts of information channels vary with the characteristics of growers. Therefore, the policy implications include examining farmers’ existing information acquisition channels carefully and then guiding farmers’ production mode selection by applying proper information acquisition channels.