Research on the impact and mechanism of digital technology on the synergistic governance of pollution and carbon reduction in agriculture

Promoting carbon reduction and pollution control in agriculture in a coordinated manner is an inevitable way to accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. The deep integration of modern digital technology and the agricultural economy brings new opportunities for the ecological revitalization of rural areas. Based on the key links of agricultural emission reduction and carbon sequestration, this study has established a theoretical analysis framework for the internal efficiency and reduction of agricultural production, as well as the external land transfer and energy structure transformation in agricultural operation. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces from 2005 to 2022, the synergy benefits of agricultural pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction were quantitatively calculated from the perspective of marginal emission reduction cost. The bidirectional fixed effect surface model was used to verify the impact effect and path mechanism of digital technology on the synergy governance of agricultural pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction. The results show that the efficient, precise and intelligent characteristics of digital technology will promote the coordinated governance of pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction in agriculture. This conclusion still holds true after a series of robustness tests and the elimination of endogeneity problems. The results of the internal mechanism show that digital technology can reduce the usage of pesticides, chemical fertilizers and agricultural films, save irrigation water, achieve the reduction of factor input and improve agricultural production efficiency. The results of external mechanisms show that digital technology will achieve coordinated governance of agricultural pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction through channels that promote land transfer and accelerate the transformation of rural energy structure. The results of the heterogeneity analysis indicate that digital technology has a stronger effect on enhancing synergy benefits in areas with a high degree of industrial integration and major grain-consuming regions. To build a green and intelligent agricultural ecological civilization, based on the research results, policy suggestions have been put forward, including deepening the innovation and application of digital infrastructure, strengthening the enabling role of digital technology in land system reform, and promoting the resource utilization of livestock and poultry manure.