Research on effects and mechanisms of high standard farmland construction on grain production resilience

Objective This study aimed to investigate effects and mechanism of high-standard farmland construction on grain production resilience， and to analyze whether regional heterogeneity existed in such effects， so as to provide a reference for relevant departments to effectively promote farmland construction.Method Based on panel data from 30 provincial-level administrative regions in China from 2005 to 2022 （excluding Xizang， Hong Kong， Macao， and Taiwan due to data unavailability）， a comprehensive evaluation index system of grain production resilience was established from three dimensions： resistance， adaptability， and reformability. The entropy method was applied to measure the level of resilience， and on this basis， a two-way fixed effects model and a mediation effect model were employed to test the effects and mechanisms of high-standard farmland construction on grain production resilience.Result （1）Every 1% increase in high-standard farmland construction raised grain production resilience by 0.357%， indicating that farmland construction could significantly enhance resilience. This conclusion remained robust after 1% winsorization， model substitution， sample exclusion， and addressing endogeneity. （2）High-standard farmland construction enhanced grain production resi-lience by promoting agricultural labor transfer and improving the development of agricultural productive services. （3） Effects of high-standard farmland construction on grain production resilience showed an obvious heterogeneity regarding grain production functional areas and disaster exposure severity. In non-major grain producing areas， high-standard farmland construction significantly improved resilience （P<0.01， the same below）， while in major grain-producing areas such effect was not obvious. Both highly and slightly disaster-affected areas received highly significant positive effects on grain production resilience from high-standard farmland construction， with an even stronger positive effect for highly disaster-affected areas.【 Suggestion】 Efforts to construct high-standard farmland should be accelerated from the following three aspects for stronger grain production resilience to ensure national food security of China： （1）to accelerate high-standard farmland construction and improve post-construction management and protection mechanisms； （2）to guide the transfer of agricultural labor and promote the development of agricultural productive services；（3）to formulate differentiated construction standards that enable regional-based and targeted policy implementation.