ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Agricultural and Food Economics
Volume 9 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1607580
This article is part of the Research TopicEnhancing Food Security and Trade Resilience in Sustainable Agricultural SystemsView all 27 articles
Exploring the Driving Mechanisms Behind the Formation of Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Clusters: A Case Study of Lanling County, China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Linyi University, Linyi, China
- 2Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
- 3Sultan Idris University of Education, Tanjung Malim, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia
- 4Ningxia Normal University, Guyuan, China
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This study investigates the formation mechanisms and development pathways of agricultural science and technology innovation clusters, with Lanling County in China serving as a representative case. Drawing on industrial cluster theory and the regional innovation systems framework, the study identifies four key driving forces: resource endowment, market demand, policy support, and technological innovation. Through a qualitative case analysis combined with field investigation, the research explores how these drivers interact to facilitate the spatial agglomeration, institutional integration, and technological upgrading of Lanling's vegetable industry. The findings reveal that the emergence and consolidation of the innovation cluster in Lanling County is the result of a synergistic combination of endogenous innovation capabilities and exogenous enabling factors. Strategic interventions-including the construction of intelligent greenhouses, the development of specialized production bases, the establishment of cooperative organizations, and the implementation of quality control systems-have significantly advanced the region's agricultural modernization. The study further proposes a set of policy-oriented development pathways, such as improving the technological service network, enhancing market responsiveness, strengthening environmental governance, and fostering enterprise collaboration.Theoretically, the research expands the application of cluster theory in the agricultural sector, demonstrating the relevance of innovation system approaches to rural development. It also offers practical insights for policy makers aiming to promote sustainable agricultural transformation through localized innovation strategies. This study contributes to bridging the gap between innovation theory and agricultural practice, providing a replicable model for other regions in China and beyond.
Keywords: Agricultural innovation cluster, Technological upgrading, Regional Development, Innovation Systems, Lanling County, Policy-driven modernization, Rural transformation
Received: 07 Apr 2025; Accepted: 28 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xie, Yang, Fauziah, Rambeli and Miao. 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: Youbao Yang, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410081, Hunan Province, China
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