The impact of digital infrastructure construction on grain production resilience: evidence from the “Broadband China” pilot policy

Introduction The role of digital infrastructure construction in bolstering grain production resilience is widely recognized. Methods This paper investigated the impact of digital infrastructure construction on grain production resilience by exploiting the “Broadband China” pilot policy as a quasi-natural experiment, using a two-way fixed effects model on panel data from 80 prefecture-level cities in China’s six major grain-producing central provinces from 2012 to 2022. Results The results show that the “Broadband China” pilot policy has significantly improved grain production resilience, a conclusion that holds after a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analysis reveals that the policy enhances grain production resilience by advancing the level of digital inclusive finance and boosting agricultural technological progress. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the policy’s positive effects are more pronounced in economically less-developed regions and in southern regions. Discussion This paper offers targeted recommendations for strengthening digital infrastructure construction to improve grain production resilience, thereby contributing to national food security.