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<p>Sustained growth in global grain production increasingly hinges on improvements in total factor productivity (TFP), yet existing studies have predominantly focused on the direct relationship between farmland use change and grain output, paying limited attention to how transitions in farmland use functions (TFUF) shape grain total factor productivity (GTFP)—a comprehensive indicator that integrates resource-use efficiency with environmental sustainability. To address this gap, this study measures GTFP using the epsilon-based measure (EBM) model, which jointly accounts for radial and non-radial efficiency, and applies spatial econometric models alongside a mediating-effect framework to systematically examine the spatial effects, geographic boundaries, and transmission mechanisms of TFUF. Using panel data for China’s major grain-producing areas from 2003 to 2022, we find that both TFUF and GTFP exhibit a pronounced north–south decreasing gradient. At the aggregate level, TFUF not only significantly enhances local GTFP but also generates positive spatial spillover effects that promote productivity growth in neighboring regions, challenging prevailing views that emphasize its negative spatial externalities. Among TFUF sub-functions, the living function (TFULF) emerges as the dominant driver, exerting strong direct and spatial spillover effects on GTFP; however, these positive spillovers are geographically bounded within a finite spatial range of approximately 800&#xa0;km. In contrast, the production function (TFUPF) and the ecological function (TFUEF) primarily exert localized effects with limited spatial diffusion. Further basin-scale heterogeneity analysis reveals that TFULF remains the core driver of GTFP growth in the Song–Liao River Basin, TFUPF plays a more prominent role in the Yellow River Basin, and TFUF together with its sub-functions displays more complex spatial differentiation in the Yangtze River Basin, reflecting pronounced heterogeneity in topographic and economic conditions. Mechanism analyses further confirm that farmers’ income growth and agricultural technological innovation constitute two key mediating channels through which TFUF enhances GTFP. Overall, this study reframes farmland use function transitions as a spatially bounded yet synergistic driver of sustainable grain productivity growth, offering integrative insights into how multifunctional farmland governance can reconcile productivity enhancement with environmental sustainability and spatial equity.</p>

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Farmland function transitions and sustainable grain productivity: spatial spillovers, boundaries, and mediating mechanisms in China

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月2日

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  • Kun Ge,
  • Haifeng Xu,
  • Xiaoyuan Liu,
  • Shangan Ke

摘要

Sustained growth in global grain production increasingly hinges on improvements in total factor productivity (TFP), yet existing studies have predominantly focused on the direct relationship between farmland use change and grain output, paying limited attention to how transitions in farmland use functions (TFUF) shape grain total factor productivity (GTFP)—a comprehensive indicator that integrates resource-use efficiency with environmental sustainability. To address this gap, this study measures GTFP using the epsilon-based measure (EBM) model, which jointly accounts for radial and non-radial efficiency, and applies spatial econometric models alongside a mediating-effect framework to systematically examine the spatial effects, geographic boundaries, and transmission mechanisms of TFUF. Using panel data for China’s major grain-producing areas from 2003 to 2022, we find that both TFUF and GTFP exhibit a pronounced north–south decreasing gradient. At the aggregate level, TFUF not only significantly enhances local GTFP but also generates positive spatial spillover effects that promote productivity growth in neighboring regions, challenging prevailing views that emphasize its negative spatial externalities. Among TFUF sub-functions, the living function (TFULF) emerges as the dominant driver, exerting strong direct and spatial spillover effects on GTFP; however, these positive spillovers are geographically bounded within a finite spatial range of approximately 800 km. In contrast, the production function (TFUPF) and the ecological function (TFUEF) primarily exert localized effects with limited spatial diffusion. Further basin-scale heterogeneity analysis reveals that TFULF remains the core driver of GTFP growth in the Song–Liao River Basin, TFUPF plays a more prominent role in the Yellow River Basin, and TFUF together with its sub-functions displays more complex spatial differentiation in the Yangtze River Basin, reflecting pronounced heterogeneity in topographic and economic conditions. Mechanism analyses further confirm that farmers’ income growth and agricultural technological innovation constitute two key mediating channels through which TFUF enhances GTFP. Overall, this study reframes farmland use function transitions as a spatially bounded yet synergistic driver of sustainable grain productivity growth, offering integrative insights into how multifunctional farmland governance can reconcile productivity enhancement with environmental sustainability and spatial equity.