Heliyon (Sep 2023)
A study on the long-term effects and mechanisms of internet information behavior on poverty alleviation among smallholder farmers: Evidence from China
Abstract
China has historically accomplished the task of eradicating absolute poverty, however, as a result of multiple external constraints and a lack of their own endogenous motivation, there is a general lack of viability among farmers who have been lifted out of poverty, with some of those who have been lifted out of poverty at risk of returning to poverty and marginalized populations at risk of becoming poor, and there are certain challenges to the longevity and stability of the poverty eradication of smallholder farmers. In the era of rapid development of information technology, the use of Internet information has become an important way to change the information asymmetry in rural areas, narrow the urban-rural digital divide and reduce the vulnerability of poverty at present. Based on this, this paper puts forward the corresponding research hypotheses on the theoretical basis of how Internet information behavior affects the long-term effects of poverty alleviation of smallholder farmers, and this paper is based on the empirical analysis of the household survey data of 240 smallholder farmers in 3 cities and 3 counties of H Province, in an attempt to explore empirical testing of the impact of Internet information behavior on the long-term effects of poverty alleviation of smallholder farmers, and to further reveal the intrinsic mechanism of the role of the internal mechanism of the transformation between the smallholder farmers' Internet information behavior and poverty alleviation of the long-term effects of poverty alleviation. This study found that (1) Internet information usage would be positively related to the long-term poverty alleviation of smallholder farmers; (2) Among the mechanisms of Internet information usage on the long-term poverty alleviation of smallholder farmers, agricultural income opportunities, employment opportunities and entrepreneurial business opportunities have significant mediating effects; (3) Formal social support and informal social support, all play a significant positive moderating role in the process of transformation of development opportunities carried out by smallholder farmers. The findings of the study have important practical implications for accelerating the poverty alleviation effect of the Internet and achieving sustainable poverty alleviation among small farmers to promote common prosperity.
