Research on the Impact of Digital Agriculture Development on Agricultural Green Total Factor Productivity

In this study, to discover how the growth of digital agriculture has impacted agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP), we take panel data from 2011 to 2019 for 30 Chinese provinces as the research object, measure the growth of AGTFP and digital agriculture development using the SBM-ML and entropy method, and use a fixed effect model to analyze the effects of digital agriculture development on AGTFP. The results demonstrate that (1) from the time-series characteristics, digital agriculture presented a steady growth state from 2011 to 2019; (2) during the study period, the technical efficiency index was slightly lower than the technological progress index in the AGTFP index, meaning that there is room for further development; (3) the relationship between the growth of digital agriculture and AGTFP presents an inverted U-shaped curve, with human capital playing a moderating role. Finally, corresponding countermeasures are proposed in four aspects: strengthening the construction of organizational mechanisms, building a standardized base for digital agriculture output, enhancing the traceability and certification of agricultural products, and improving social services in the agricultural industry.