Diverse Pathways for Digital and Intelligence Technologies to Enhance Resilience in the Agricultural Industry Chain—A Configuration Analysis Based on 99 Prefecture-Level Cities in China’s Yellow River Basin

From a configuration perspective, by using 99 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River basin as a sample, this paper reveals a variety of pathways through which digital and intelligent technologies, in synergy with multiple factors, strengthen the resilience of agricultural industrial chains. The research findings are as follows: First, none of the antecedent conditions are essential for strengthening the resilience of the high agricultural industrial chain in the Yellow River Basin. Nevertheless, digital and intelligent technologies and digital infrastructure are central conditions in all four configurations that enhance the resilience of the agricultural industrial chain. Second, the four configurations that produce high agricultural industrial chain resilience are enabled by technology, driven by information, facilitated through multi-stakeholder collaboration, and guided by policy, and there are certain complementary and substitutive relationships among these conditions. Third, the configuration which is empowered by technology fits regions with well-developed digital infrastructure and established goose-formation agricultural entities; the configuration that is driven by information fits areas with limited fiscal support but robust digital infrastructure; the multi-stakeholder collaborative configuration fits regions with strong economic foundations, robust fiscal support, and advanced digital infrastructure; and the configuration which is guided by policy fits areas with weaker economic foundations but advanced digital infrastructure and diverse agricultural entities. The above conclusions, by revealing the diverse pathways by means of which digital technologies strengthen the resilience of the agricultural industrial chain in the Yellow River Basin, demonstrate that regional development must adopt tailored methods which are suited to local conditions. They also provide novel solutions for sustainable agricultural development.