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Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine how the social behaviors displayed by rural farmers affect their acceptance and use of agricultural technologies. This examination investigates the relationship between peer (PI) and superior influences (SI) and farmers adoption of agricultural technology (AD).

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative research approach was used to obtain data from a sample of 285 rural rice farmers in the Volta Region of Ghana. The data was acquired by a cross-sectional survey, using random selection of participants. The data was analyzed using the structural equation modelling technique to investigate the correlations between the variables.

Findings

The study’s findings indicated that the adoption and use of AD by rural farmers were significantly and positively influenced by their social behavior. The impact of peers and superiors on the adoption of AD was found to be significantly positive. However, the evidence demonstrated that the influence of PI was more significant than that of SI. In addition, the moderation analysis demonstrated that farmers with higher levels of education exhibited weaker PI and SI on AD than farmers with lower levels of education with the result between SI and AD being statistically significant at p < 0.05.

Originality/value

The results of this study indicate that the social behavior of farmers should be considered when devising technology marketing strategies and policies to encourage the adoption of AD.

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