Does cross-policy mix work on agriculture total factor productivity: analyzing by the impact of agricultural mechanization and large-scale operations in China

The policies of agricultural mechanization (AM) and land scale management (SL) have been instrumental in improving the Agriculture Total Factor Productivity (ATFP). However, amidst the changing spatial relationships in agricultural production, the problem of inefficiency caused by the mismatch between AM and SL has not received sufficient attention. Therefore, based on the data of crop output, mechanical operation area, and per capita cultivated land area of 19 provinces from 2000 to 2019, this study uses Spatial Difference in Difference models to analysis the effect of Agricultural mechanization and large-scale operation (AMSL) on ATFP under cross-policy mix. The results show that AMSL has a better lifting effect on ATFP than unilateral input, and has significant spatial spillover. Labor density, cropping structure, and fixed assets play different mediating roles, while irrigation, crop value, and policies in major production areas have different moderating effects. A contrast can be found in reality, for instance, the northeastern region of China has become the region with the highest grain production efficiency in China through large-scale mechanized operations. However, provinces like Hebei still have manual labor and decentralized operations, thereby facing issues of inefficiency. Therefore, agricultural policies, including mechanization and land-scale management, need to establish an intrinsically linked input mechanism from a spatial perspective to avoid waste and effectively improve ATFP.