IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v14y2025i3p481-d1599789.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Farmland Transfer Promote Digital Agriculture?—Based on Panel Data from 30 Provinces in China

Author

Listed:
  • Xinxin Zhou

    (School of Economics and Management, Huainan Normal University, Huainan 232038, China)

  • Guanghua Cheng

    (School of Economics and Management, Huainan Normal University, Huainan 232038, China)

  • Bangbang Zhang

    (College of Economics and Management, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China)

Abstract

To achieve agricultural modernization, agricultural land must be operated on a large scale. The primary means of encouraging massive operations is through the conveyance of farmland. This is crucial for advancing China’s digital farming. In this article, the degree of digital farming growth is evaluated via the entropy value approach, the impact of farmland transfer on digital agricultural development is analyzed via fixed effects and mediating effects, and the mediating role of resource allocation in farming land transfer to advance digital agriculture growth is investigated. It has been found that agrarian land transfer can effectively stimulate the growth of digital farming. From the mediating effect, farmland transfer fosters the advancement of digital agriculture by transferring farm labor and increasing the input of digital capital. According to heterogeneity analysis, the impact of agricultural land transfer on advancing digital agriculture is more pronounced in eastern and central China. Relevant countermeasures are proposed to enhance the farmland transfer system to promote the large-scale operation of digital agriculture, to increase the input of digital capital to support the growth and construction of digital agriculture, and to improve the regional talent flow mechanism and technological innovation environment to attract from and retain technical talent in digital agriculture.

Suggested Citation

  • Xinxin Zhou & Guanghua Cheng & Bangbang Zhang, 2025. "Does Farmland Transfer Promote Digital Agriculture?—Based on Panel Data from 30 Provinces in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:3:p:481-:d:1599789
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/3/481/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/3/481/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Evans, Olaniyi, 2018. "Digital Agriculture: Mobile Phones, Internet & Agricultural Development in Africa," MPRA Paper 90359, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Siyi Pei & Sudan Zhao & Xuan Li & Jiahui Li, 2024. "Impacts of Rural–Urban Labour Transfer and Land Transfer on Land Efficiency in China: A Analysis of Mediating Effects," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-22, May.
    3. Hua Hong & Lili Sun & Lijuan Zhao, 2024. "Exploring the Impact of Digital Inclusive Finance on Agricultural Carbon Emissions: Evidence from the Mediation Effect of Capital Deepening," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-21, April.
    4. Carletto, Calogero & Savastano, Sara & Zezza, Alberto, 2013. "Fact or artifact: The impact of measurement errors on the farm size–productivity relationship," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 254-261.
    5. Fei, Rilong & Lin, Ziyi & Chunga, Joseph, 2021. "How land transfer affects agricultural land use efficiency: Evidence from China’s agricultural sector," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    6. Arouri, Mohamed & Ben Youssef, Adel & Nguyen, Cuong, 2017. "Does urbanization reduce rural poverty? Evidence from Vietnam," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 253-270.
    7. Yangchenhao Wu & Wang Zhang, 2024. "The Impact of Land Transfer on Sustainable Agricultural Development from the Perspective of Green Total Factor Productivity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-27, August.
    8. Chye Ing Lim & Wahidul Biswas, 2015. "An Evaluation of Holistic Sustainability Assessment Framework for Palm Oil Production in Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(12), pages 1-27, December.
    9. Li-Sha Fu & Tao Qin & Gan-Qiong Li & San-Gui Wang, 2024. "Efficiency of Agricultural Insurance in Facilitating Modern Agriculture Development: From the Perspective of Production Factor Allocation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-21, July.
    10. Vik, Jostein & Melås, Anders Mahlum & Stræte, Egil Petter & Søraa, Roger Andre, 2021. "Balanced readiness level assessment (BRLa): A tool for exploring new and emerging technologies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yuyang Li & Jiahui Li & Xinjie Li & Qian Lu, 2024. "Does Participation in Digital Supply and Marketing Promote Smallholder Farmers’ Adoption of Green Agricultural Production Technologies?," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-24, December.
    2. Klaus Deininger & Denys Nizalov & Sudhir K Singh, 2013. "Are mega-farms the future of global agriculture? Exploring the farm size-productivity relationship for large commercial farms in Ukraine," Discussion Papers 49, Kyiv School of Economics.
    3. Aragón, Fernando M. & Restuccia, Diego & Rud, Juan Pablo, 2022. "Are small farms really more productive than large farms?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    4. Klaus Deininger & Songqing Jin & Yanyan Liu & Sudhir K. Singh, 2018. "Can Labor-Market Imperfections Explain Changes in the Inverse Farm Size–Productivity Relationship? Longitudinal Evidence from Rural India," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 94(2), pages 239-258.
    5. Schling, Maja & Pazos, Nicolás, 2022. "The Impact of Smart Subsidies on Agricultural Production: Innovative Evidence from Argentina Using Survey and Remote Sensing Data," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12369, Inter-American Development Bank.
    6. Lili Guo & Yuting Song & Mengqian Tang & Jinyang Tang & Bright Senyo Dogbe & Mengying Su & Houjian Li, 2022. "Assessing the Relationship among Land Transfer, Fertilizer Usage, and PM 2.5 Pollution: Evidence from Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-18, July.
    7. Ugwuja, V C & Otu, P E, 2024. "Assessment of Agricultural Insurance Literacy Levels Among Agripreneurs in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area Rivers State, Nigeria," Nigerian Agricultural Policy Research Journal (NAPReJ), Agricultural Policy Research Network (APRNet), vol. 11(2), December.
    8. Aremu, Olayinka & Fabry, Anna & Meemken, Eva-Marie, 2024. "Farm size and the quality and quantity of jobs—Insights from Nigeria," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    9. William J. Burke & Stephen N. Morgan & Thelma Namonje & Milu Muyanga & Nicole M. Mason, 2023. "Beyond the “inverse relationship”: Area mismeasurement may affect actual productivity, not just how we understand it," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 54(4), pages 557-569, July.
    10. Yuta J. Masuda & Jonathan R.B. Fisher & Wei Zhang & Carolina Castilla & Timothy M. Boucher & Genowefa Blundo‐Canto, 2020. "A respondent‐driven method for mapping small agricultural plots using tablets and high resolution imagery," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 727-748, July.
    11. Arif Imam Suroso & Idqan Fahmi & Hansen Tandra, 2022. "The Role of Internet on Agricultural Sector Performance in Global World," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-10, September.
    12. Katrina Kosec & Hosaena Ghebru & Brian Holtemeyer & Valerie Mueller & Emily Schmidt, 2018. "The Effect of Land Access on Youth Employment and Migration Decisions: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 100(3), pages 931-954.
    13. Fang Xia & Lingling Hou & Songqing Jin & Dongqing Li, 2020. "Land size and productivity in the livestock sector: evidence from pastoral areas in China," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(3), pages 867-888, July.
    14. Dang, Hai-Anh H & Carletto, Calogero, 2022. "Recall Bias Revisited: Measure Farm Labor Using Mixed-Mode Surveys and Multiple Imputation," IZA Discussion Papers 14997, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Mensah, Edouard R. & Kostandini, Genti, 2020. "The inverse farm size-productivity relationship under land size mis-measurement and in the presence of weather and price risks: Panel data evidence from Uganda," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304477, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. Chaoran Chen & Diego Restuccia & Raül Santaeulàlia-Llopis, 2023. "Land Misallocation and Productivity," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 441-465, April.
    17. Robert B. Zougmoré & Samuel T. Partey, 2022. "Gender Perspectives of ICT Utilization in Agriculture and Climate Response in West Africa: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-15, September.
    18. Jayne, T.S. & Chamberlin, Jordan & Traub, Lulama & Sitko, N. & Muyanga, Milu & Yeboah, Kwame & Nkonde, Chewe & Anseeuw, Ward & Chapoto, A. & Kachule, Richard, 2015. "Africa’s Changing Farmland Ownership: Causes and Consequences," Miscellaneous Publications 208576, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    19. Lovo, Stefania & Veronesi, Marcella, 2019. "Crop Diversification and Child Health: Empirical Evidence From Tanzania," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 168-179.
    20. Kibrom A. Abay & Tesfamicheal Wossen & Jordan Chamberlin, 2023. "Mismeasurement and efficiency estimates: Evidence from smallholder survey data in Africa," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(2), pages 413-434, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:3:p:481-:d:1599789. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.