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"New Quality Productive Forces and High-level Science & Technology Self-reliance and Self-strengthening" Column

Digital Transformation Empowering the Cultivation of Agricul⁃ tural New Quality Productive Forces: Internal Logic and Policy  Tool Portfolio-driven Models 

Du Baogui, Niu Zexu 

(School of Humanities and Law, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110169, China)

Abstract: Digital transformation aligns with the intrinsic characteristics of new quality pro⁃ ductive forces in agriculture and has become a core engine for advancing the modernization of agriculture and rural areas in China. However, under the real national and agricultural condi⁃ tions of "a large country with numerous smallholder farmers", the foundational disparities in digi⁃ tal transformation across different regions are significant. This leads to notable differentiation in  policy diffusion processes, transformation pathways, and outcomes, constraining overall transfor⁃ mation effectiveness and obscuring the pathways through which digital transformation empowers  new quality productive forces in agriculture. As an authoritative means for governments to drive  transformation, the combination strategies and regional adaptation mechanisms of policy tools di⁃ rectly influence the direction and effectiveness of regional agricultural digital transformation. Therefore, it is imperative to clarify the internal logic of how agricultural digital transformation  empowers the cultivation of new quality productive forces and the differentiated policy tool  portfolio-driven models. Grounded in the theoretical perspective of Marxist political economics  for defining the concept and logical relationships of new quality productive forces in agriculture, this study first employs procedural grounded theory analysis to systematically code 87 represen⁃ tative policy texts and relevant practical cases from 31 provincial-level regions, distilling the in⁃ ternal practical logic of agricultural digital transformation empowering new quality productive  forces. Second, based on existing research, key variables are extracted from the grounded theory  analysis results, calibration rules are defined, and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis is  applied to further explore the policy tool configurations that enable this empowerment process. Finally, based on the nature and stage characteristics of the policy tools in different pathways, the identified policy tool configurations are further summarized into three differentiated policy  tool portfolio-driven models: The "regulation—supply-oriented strategic engine model" empha⁃ sizes government coordination and institutional guarantees, suitable for regions with concen⁃ trated administrative resources but where market vitality needs stimulation; the "scenariooriented ecological symbiosis model" focuses on regional characteristics and ecological adapta⁃ tion, applicable to regions with a solid foundation in specialized agricultural industries; and the  "content—demand-oriented innovation growth model" centers on factor synergy and market  structure optimization, fitting major agricultural production regions and industrial clusters with  high factor mobility. Accordingly, three targeted policy recommendations are proposed: strength⁃ ening dynamic policy refinement and transformation process safeguards, enhancing transforma⁃ tion inclusiveness and outcome equity, and improving the monitoring and feedback mechanisms  for the selection and application of policy tool portfolios, thereby facilitating the high-quality em⁃ powerment of regional agricultural digital transformation in cultivating new quality productive  forces in agriculture.

Key words: agricultural digital transformation; new quality productive forces in agriculture; policy tools; driving models; digital agriculture; digital economy; digital technology; technologi⁃ cal innovation