Farmer cognition on water-saving irrigation technology and its influencing factors analysis

To analysis the driving forces of WSI technological choice and changing farmers' traditional irrigation methods，farmer cognition on water-saving irrigation (WSI) technology and their influencing factors were investigated. 296 households in 17 towns and 10 counties (districts) in Shaanxi province regarding greenhouse crop production were surveyed, and the farmer cognition and its influencing factors based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were analyzed. The results indicated that the level of farmer cognition influenced the application and promotion of WSI technology directly. The effects of familiarity towards WSI equipment, the degree of satisfaction with existing irrigation methods, government subsidies, irrigation cost, education level, farmer's age, technical training experience and planting experience on farmer cognition on WSI technology. Thus, it can be used to prompt farmer cognition level on WSI, and regulate farmer irrigation behavior, promote adoption ratio of WSI technology, by improving farmers' rational cognition on traditional irrigation methods, expanding farmers' depth and the breadth towards WSI technology, enhancing government's macroeconomics regulation, control and supporting strength, establishing a consummate WSI technology extension system.