IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jknowl/v16y2025i2d10.1007_s13132-024-02158-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Harnessing the Digital Economy for Sustainable Agricultural Carbon Productivity: A Path to Green Innovation in China

Author

Listed:
  • Fengshu Li

    (Anhui University)

  • Jian Hou

    (Henan Agricultural University)

  • Hongyang Yu

    (Wuhan University)

  • Qiuzhen Ren

    (Ghent University)

  • Yifan Yang

    (Anhui University)

Abstract

The rapid increase in global temperature and the pressing need for climate mitigation have brought agriculture and its carbon emissions into the spotlight, particularly within the context of China’s agricultural development. The present study investigates the convergence of the digital economy (DE), agricultural green technology innovation (GIN), and agricultural carbon productivity (ACP) in China. The study commences by assessing the level of China’s digital economy, with a particular emphasis on the significance of digital infrastructure, technological innovation, and regional development. It identifies a significant threshold effect of agricultural green technology innovation, demonstrating a non-linear relationship between the digital economy and agricultural carbon productivity. Furthermore, this paper elucidates the determinants of agricultural carbon productivity, including human capital, agricultural disasters, urbanization, and fiscal support. It underscores the pivotal role of innovation in low-carbon agricultural technologies for enhancing production efficiency and mitigating carbon emissions. To address the challenges and constraints faced by different regions, tailored governance policies are proposed. Developing countries are encouraged to prioritize green technology research, while advanced countries should strengthen their institutional frameworks and investments in science and technology. Also, the paper underscores the importance of urban planning, meteorological forecasting, agricultural insurance, and infrastructure development in enhancing agricultural carbon productivity. It emphasizes the need to support scientific research talent and encourage industrial capital to finance agricultural technology innovation projects. This research contributes to our comprehension of how the digital economy can be leveraged to advance low-carbon agriculture and promote sustainable agricultural carbon productivity in China, thereby offering valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders navigating the intricate landscape of agricultural innovation and environmental sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Fengshu Li & Jian Hou & Hongyang Yu & Qiuzhen Ren & Yifan Yang, 2025. "Harnessing the Digital Economy for Sustainable Agricultural Carbon Productivity: A Path to Green Innovation in China," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(2), pages 7208-7234, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jknowl:v:16:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s13132-024-02158-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s13132-024-02158-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13132-024-02158-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13132-024-02158-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    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:spr:jknowl:v:16:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s13132-024-02158-7. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.