The impact of time preferences on farmers' adoption of eco-management technologies for non-timber forest products: The moderating role of technology extension interventions

Promoting eco-management technologies for non-timber forest products (NTFPs) holds significant practical importance for accelerating high-quality forestry development and facilitating the green transformation of forestry production through the enabling force of new quality productive forces. Given the inherent long-term cycle of forestry production and the intertemporal attributes specific to eco-management, time preferences constitute a crucial psychological factor influencing individual technology adoption. Building on an analytical framework examining the impact of farmers' time preferences on the adoption of NTFP eco-management technologies, this study utilizes household survey data from seven counties (cities) in Zhejiang province. Employing econometric models, it empirically examines the influence of time preferences on farmers' adoption of these technologies and its heterogeneity, while further investigating the moderating role of technology extension interventions. The findings reveal that: (1) Farmers' time preferences exert a significantly negative impact on both their adoption behavior and the quantity of eco-management technologies adopted. (2) Time preferences have a significantly negative effect on adoption by smallholder farmers, while the impact on large-scale producers is insignificant. Regarding technology types, time preferences exhibit a stronger negative influence on the adoption of biological control techniques. (3) Technology extension interventions can mitigate the negative effects induced by time preferences; among the three types of interventions examined, technology subsidies prove more effective. Furthermore, the impact of extension interventions varies across different technology types. Based on these findings, relevant policy recommendations are proposed, including differentiated approaches for promoting eco-management technologies.