Factors affecting sustained adoption of irrigation water-saving technologies in groundwater over-exploited areas in the North China Plain

Over-exploitation of groundwater in China has severely affected irrigation agriculture, especially in the North China Plain, and it also threatens the environment. Although water-saving technologies (WSTs) have been introduced for decades, sustained commitment to WST is not being met. This paper investigates factors affecting adoption and sustained adoption of WST based on 261 households in the North China Plain. We employ Heckman’s two-stage sample selection process: (1) households decide whether to adopt WST or not and (2) households decide whether to sustainably adopt (adopt for a long time) WST or not. Particular attention is paid to the role of water scarcity in the initial adoption and sustained adoption stages. Several indicators relating to water scarcity are used to calculate a water scarcity index based on principal component analysis. The results showed that water scarcity exerts a significant and positive effect on both adoption and sustained adoption of WST. Non-adopters and non-sustained adopters face less severe water scarcity than adopters. Membership in cooperative organizations significantly improves the likelihood of sustained adoption; 63.6% of sustained adopters have a membership in cooperative organizations, compared with 18.2% of non-sustained adopters. The number of plots negatively affects the sustained adoption of WST; sustained adopters on average have 3.0 plots, and non-sustained adopters have 5.3 plots. Education, extension service, farm size, off-farm work, relatives working in the local government and irrigation costs are positively and significantly associated with adoption and sustained adoption decisions. Finally, we find that labor-saving capacity significantly influences both stages, whereas capital-saving capacity is only significant in the adoption stage. Only 10% of non-adopters consider adoption of WST as more labor- and capital-saving than conventional irrigation practices, in comparison with nearly 50% of adopters. These results imply that the extension of WST should consider focusing more on cooperative organizations and hold more demonstrations for farmers. Moreover, given that the degree of water shortage varies from region to region, the WST extension standards should vary accordingly. Governments should strengthen awareness by enhancing education and publicity concerning water scarcity and conservation.