ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Land, Livelihoods and Food Security
This article is part of the Research TopicDigital Agricultural Technologies for Improving Food Security OutcomesView all 12 articles
Nonlinear Relationship Between Digital Literacy and Farmers' Straw Incorporation Behavior: Evidence from Rural China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Nanchang Business College, Jiangxi Agricultural University,, Jiujiang, Jiangxi, China
- 2College of Economic Management, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
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(1) Background: Ecological security of cultivated land is crucial for the sustainable development of a nation's society and economy. (2) Methods: Utilizing the 2020 China Rural Revitalization Survey (CRRS) database, organized by the Rural Development Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, this study employs nonlinear regression, mediating effect, and moderating effect models to explore the intrinsic relationship between digital literacy and farmers ' adoption of straw return practices. (3) Results: Digital literacy exhibits a U-shaped effect on straw return behavior among farmers, with a threshold value of 0.5. Digital literacy influences straw return in a U-shaped manner by facilitating capital accumulation. Neighborhood interaction delays the inflection point at which digital literacy begins to inhibit straw return, thereby strengthening its suppressive effect and steepening the U-shaped relationship. (4) Conclusions: Governments should enhance regional digital infrastructure, increase internet accessibility, and focus on improving farmers ' financial literacy through targeted training programs to expand their financial knowledge.
Keywords: Digital Literacy, straw incorporation behavior, bonlinear relationship, neigh borhood effects, Cultivated land protection
Received: 09 Oct 2025; Accepted: 05 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Pan, Yu, Yang, Wang and Yu. 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: Song Yu
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