Social Capital, Management Ability and Technology Adoption of Scale Operation of Grain Farmers: Taking Soil Testing and Formula Fertilization as an Example

Soil testing and formulated fertilization technology is an effective technology to reduce non-point source pollution, improve fertilization efficiency and soil quality. This paper studies the influence of social capital and management ability of scale operation farmers on the adoption of soil testing and formula fertilization technology. Through factor analysis method, social capital is divided into four dimensions: social participation, network strength, social trust and organizational learning; the annual net income of farmers and the frequency of information obtained by farmers through various channels represent the household management ability. Based on 233 survey data of three cities and six counties in Shandong Province, this paper analyzes the differences in technology adoption caused by farmers’ social capital and business ability after establishing logit model. The results show that: the ability of household management and information acquisition significantly affect the adoption of soil testing and formula fertilization technology. In all dimensions of social capital, social network strength and organizational learning can significantly positively promote the adoption of soil testing and formula fertilization technology by farmers in scale management.