Using digital technology to ensure food supply stability: a case study of achieving food security in China

Under the combined pressures of frequent extreme climate events and the spread of unilateral trade policies, global agricultural industry and supply chains are facing an unprecedented crisis. Digital technology (DT) is a key driver of the new technological revolution and is profoundly reshaping food production, distribution, and consumption. However, its comprehensive impact on food security and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

This study systematically elaborates the theoretical logic through which digital technology enhances food security. Using panel data from 285 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2024, we construct an innovative urban DT composite index based on the number of artificial intelligence patents and the coverage rate of digital infrastructure. A dynamic spatial Durbin model and a mediation effects model are employed for empirical testing.

The findings reveal three main results. First, DT has a significant direct positive effect on urban food security and a significant positive spatial spillover effect, meaning that local DT development improves food security in neighboring regions. These results remain robust after using instrumental variable methods, substituting core variables, and performing multiple robustness checks. Second, the mechanism analysis shows that DT indirectly enhances food security by improving agricultural socialized services, accelerating land transfer efficiency, and reducing climate-induced volatility in agricultural production. Among these channels, agricultural socialized services have the strongest mediating effect. Third, heterogeneity analysis indicates that the enabling effect of DT on food security is more pronounced in non-major grain-producing areas, regions with flat terrain, and cities with higher levels of financial development, suggesting that DT helps bridge the digital divide in agricultural development across regions.

This study deepens the understanding of food security mechanisms in the digital economy era and provides a solid theoretical and empirical foundation for formulating precise, differentiated policies for digital villages and smart agriculture, thereby supporting the development of new-quality productivity in agriculture.