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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Agricultural and Food Economics
Volume 8 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2024.1385935
This article is part of the Research Topic

Strategies Of Digitalization And Sustainability In Agrifood Value Chains

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Exploring the Influence of Internet Technology Adoption on the Technical Efficiency of Food Production: Insight from Wheat Farmers Provisionally Accepted

Bilal Ahmad1 Zixiang Zhao2* Xing Jile2* Humaira Gultaj3* Nawab Khan4
  • 1School of International Business and Economics, Jilin International Studies University, Jilin, Changchun, China, China
  • 2School of International Business, Jilin International Studies University, Jilin Changchun, China, China
  • 3School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Jilin University, Jilin Changchun, China
  • 4College of Economics, Sichuan Agricultural University, China

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Digital technology plays a crucial role in advancing sustainable farming and ensuring food security, especially in developing countries. This study evaluates the impact of internet technology usage on technical efficiency in crop productivity, using data from 600 wheat farmers in rural Pakistan. It addresses the imperative need to enhance agricultural practices within the context of sustainable food production. To achieve this, a matched sample of internet users and nonusers is formed through propensity score matching. The study employs the stochastic frontier method with sample selection adjustment, ensuring a robust evaluation of technical efficiency between these groups. The findings reveal a positive influence of internet usage on efficiency, persisting even after mitigating self-selection bias from observed and unobserved factors. Internet users exhibit a technical efficiency score of 0.62, surpassing the 0.55 score of nonusers. Quantile regression analysis exposes varying impacts of internet usage on technical efficiency, with less efficient farmers experiencing substantial improvements.Widespread internet adoption holds the potential to significantly enhance agricultural production for growers. The research underscores the role of promoting internet utilization to stimulate growth and improve farming efficiency within the evolving digital economy.Policymakers are advised to promote the adoption of modern technology to enhance crop production and support economic growth .

Keywords: Sustainable food system, Internet technology, Technical efficiency, rural areas, Pakistan

Received: 14 Feb 2024; Accepted: 21 May 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Ahmad, Zhao, Jile, Gultaj and Khan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Prof. Zixiang Zhao, School of International Business, Jilin International Studies University, Jilin Changchun, China, Jilin Changchun, China
Prof. Xing Jile, School of International Business, Jilin International Studies University, Jilin Changchun, China, Jilin Changchun, China
Prof. Humaira Gultaj, School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Jilin University, Jilin Changchun, Jilin University, China