Research on the effect of digital new quality productivity forces on reducing chemical inputs for households: Evidence from poyang lake ecological economic zone

The excessive utilization of agricultural chemical inputs and the issues of agricultural product quality and safety have garnered significant public attention. Developing digital quality productivity represents an effective approach to addressing this issue. The research is based on survey data from 450 households in the Poyang Lake Eco-Economic Zone. The framework of digital new-quality productivity empowerment—digital literacy matching—farmer behavior transformation is constructed, and the theoretical model is formulated. This research aims to elucidate the intrinsic mechanism of digital new-quality productivity empowering households in the reduction of chemical inputs, while to explore the long-term mechanism. The study results indicate that: 1) Digital literacy can exert a positive effect on chemical inputs reduction behavior of households. The enhancement of information acquisition, information cognition, and information conversion capabilities can facilitate households in scientifically controlling the use of chemical inputs, such as spraying low-toxic pesticides and organic fertilizers that comply with national standards, and exerting a demonstration effect, influencing nearby villagers to adopt the chemical inputs reduction behavior. 2) Value perception and social identification has a positive mediating effect on the relationship between digital literacy and chemical inputs reduction behavior of households. The economic, social, and ecological values of reducing agricultural chemical inputs are closely associated with sustainable livelihoods of household. The value chain can assume a mediating role between digital literacy and behavior adoption, driving behavior transformation. Simultaneously, the neighborhood effect, institutional constraints, and environmental constraints also support behavior change of households, and social identification catalyzes the behavior of households reducing chemical inputs driven by digital literacy. The research conclusions reveal that: 1) Digital literacy is propelled by incentive compatibility and self-enforcement mechanisms for chemical inputs reduction behavior of households. For general households, the entry point in writing about agricultural greenization empowered by digital new-quality productivity lies in enhancing digital literacy of households at the psychological level, optimizing factor matching, and subsequently forming the long-term incentive compatibility and self-enforcement mechanism to facilitate high-quality agricultural development. 2) Digital productivity induces the formation of green productivity by establishing a system of value perception and social identification. The essence of digital new-quality productivity empowering households to reduce chemical inputs consists in constructing a system of value perception and social identification with digital productivity, and subsequently leveraging the subtle psychological identification to catalyze the condensation of green productivity. 3) Focusing on household differentiation constitutes an effective approach to enhance chemical inputs reduction behavior of households. There exist significant differences in the understanding of digital new-quality productivity and the coupling of their own interests among households with distinct demographic characteristics. In further promoting the ascent of green productivity, it is imperative to categorize and implement promotion plans for different types of households to boost the efficiency of agricultural green transformation. On this basis, the paper presents the following proposals: 1) The digital literacy of households ought to be comprehensively enhanced to expedite the transformation of digital new-quality productivity in the agricultural sphere. 2) The application of smart agriculture should be perpetually advanced, and efforts should be made to reduce costs and increase efficiency. 3) More vigorous efforts need to be made to promote the application of digital technologies for enhancing chemical input reduction technologies and achievements.