The impact of digital information treatment on the evaluation of service performance of agricultural extension agents

Abstract

A randomized survey experiment was used to investigate the influence of digital information treatment on the subjective attitudes of agricultural extension agents. The objective was to explore the influence and mechanism of the digital economy on agricultural extension performance. This paper sets up the digital economy as a counterfactual information treatment. The sample was split into two groups using group randomization according to the location and type of unit where the agricultural extension agents were stationed. When responding to questions about the issues encountered, the randomly chosen treatment participants were informed of the numerous changes and implications the digital economy would bring to agricultural extension. In contrast, the control group answered the same questions without receiving the treatment information. The empirical results indicate that digital information treatment significantly affected agricultural extension agents’ preferred choice of extension service supply. Also, the recognition of the impact of actions to innovate the service mode and enhance the service capability of agricultural extension agents was much enhanced by the use of digital information treatment. The type of units dispatched and the scale of production of service recipients have significant moderating effects. Digital information treatment has a greater influence on the attitude of specialists from universities and research institutes and those whose service recipients are small farmers. The paper highlights the important role of government in the development of the digital economy by actively providing digital public goods for agricultural extension services.