Abstract
In the context of the digital economy, digital capability represents an important skill for farmers to acquire and utilize information resources. This capability plays a crucial role in promoting pesticide reduction and efficiency improvement, as well as accelerating the green transformation of agricultural development. Therefore, this article constructs a theoretical analysis framework to examine the impact of farmers’ digital capabilities on pesticide application intensity. It discusses three theoretical mechanisms: pesticide machinery operation, organizational capacity optimization, and ecological literacy improvement. Furthermore, it reveals the pathways through which farmers’ digital capabilities affect pesticide application intensity, thereby offering crucial insights and serving as an important reference for enhancing the level of green agricultural development and achieving high-quality agricultural development. Based on the 2020 China Rural Revitalization Comprehensive Survey (CRRS) Database, this article constructs a digital capability index system specifically for farmers. It utilizes methods such as multiple linear regression models and mechanism testing models to deeply explore the impact of farmers’ digital capabilities on pesticide application intensity. The innovation of this paper lies in the use of the factor analysis method to construct the digital capability indicator system of farmers from three dimensions: digital access conditions, digital resource demand, and digital application capability. A total of 13 secondary indicators are selected to characterize farmers’ digital capabilities, which can effectively address the limitations of existing research that relies solely on single indicators, such as internet or smartphone access, as proxy variables for digital capabilities. Furthermore, this approach provides a reference indicator construction paradigm for subsequent research. The research results indicate that: firstly, the improvement of digital ability can significantly reduce the intensity of pesticide application by farmers, and this conclusion still holds true after considering endogeneity issues and conducting a series of robustness tests. Secondly, the three dimensions of digital access conditions, digital resource demand, and digital application capability can significantly reduce the intensity of pesticide application by farmers. Specifically, the impact of digital resource demand is higher than that of digital access conditions and digital application capability, and the comprehensive measurement of the impact of digital capability is much greater than that of a single dimension. Thirdly, the mechanism analysis results indicate that digital capabilities significantly reduce farmers’ pesticide application intensity through three pathways: pesticide machinery operation, organizational capability optimization, and ecological literacy improvement. Fourthly, the heterogeneity analysis results indicate that the improvement of farmers’ digital capabilities has a more significant impact on the reduction of pesticide application intensity among elderly farmers, small-scale planting farmers and farmers in ordinary villages. Based on the above research conclusions, this article proposes the following policy recommendations. Firstly, accelerate the construction of digital rural areas and ensure the full coverage of digital infrastructure and information service systems. Secondly, we should establish a cultivation system for enhancing the digital capabilities of farmers. Additionally, to improve farmers’ digital capabilities, we should attach importance to online courses, tutorials, and workshops, make full use of live streaming, video, and other forms of media, and strengthen the demonstration, promotion, and training education of agricultural digitization. Thirdly, strengthen the service system for promoting digital agricultural technology. Adopt a combination of formal and informal promotion methods, fully utilize digital media technology, and use visual methods such as images, audio, and video to popularize modern digital agricultural technology.
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