Influence of high-standard farmland construction policy on grain production capacity and mechanism

[Objective] The construction of high-standard basic farmland is an important measure to implement the national food security strategy, and improving the grain production capacity is the key to realize the high-standard farmland construction policy of “storing grain in the land”. [Methods] Based on the panel data of 31 provinces in China’s mainland from 2005 to 2020, this study analyzed the impact of high-standard farmland construction policies on grain production capacity and its mechanism by using continuous difference-in-differences method. [Results] High-standard farmland construction policies can significantly improve grain production capacity, and have a positive impact on grain yield per unit area. Robustness test also confirmed the reliability of the results. Heterogeneity analysis showed that the effect of policy implementation is more obvious in the main grain producing areas, and stronger in the southern region, but weaker in the eastern region with higher economic development level. Compared with corn, the policy has a better effect on improving the production capacity of rice and wheat. The mechanism test showed that the high-standard farmland construction policies can improve grain production capacity by promoting agricultural mechanization, facilitating land circulation, and improving multiple cropping of cultivated land. [Conclusion] We recommend to strengthen the construction of high-standard farmland in major grain producing areas, attach importance to the construction of supporting facilities such as irrigation and drainage networks, strengthen the post-construction management and protection of high-standard farmland, continuously enhance the comprehensive grain production capacity, and strengthen food security.