From “reach” to “empowerment”: micro-level evidence on how digital capability resolve farmers’ dilemmas in adopting production trusteeship

The macro-level expansion of agricultural production trusteeship has obscured the insufficient depth of adoption among micro-level farmers. While various practical constraints trap farmers in a dilemma of limited service deepening, improvements in digital capability provide a viable pathway for breaking down these micro-level barriers and promoting high-quality service adoption. Drawing microdata from 738 grain growers in Shandong Province, this study develops a theoretical framework on the impact of digital capability on farmers’ agricultural production trusteeship behavior. After measuring farmers’ digital capabilities, we employ multiple econometric models for empirical analysis. The results show that: 1) digital capability significantly promotes trusteeship adoption, confirming its critical role in overcoming barriers to service adoption; 2) the impacts of different dimensions of digital capability are structurally heterogeneous, with digital information acquisition exerting the strongest positive effect, followed by digital platform use, while digital technology access shows no significant impact; 3) digital capability reshapes farmers decision-making regarding agricultural production trusteeship through three pathways, including enhancing benefit perception, strengthening payment capacity, and reducing transaction costs. Therefore, this paper provides some suggestions, including advancing the cultivation of farmers’ digital capability in a tiered manner, fosteringa a demand-oriented and agriculture-adapted digital trusteeship ecosystem, and adopting targeted measures to address key barriers, thereby promoting the healthy development of agricultural production trusteeship.