Recently, the Innovation Team of Agricultural Allocation and Regional Development of the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has made new progress in the eco-efficiency of potato production. Their research findings, titled "Does internet use improve eco-efficiency of agricultural production? Evidence from potato farmers in China," have been published in the top-tier journal "Journal of Cleaner Production" in the field of international environmental science (2023-2024 IF=9.70).

The excessive long-term use of chemical inputs severely restricts the improvement of eco-efficiency in potato production in China. While many studies have shown a positive impact of internet use on potato production, the pathways and intensity of this impact on the eco-efficiency of potato production remain unclear.

Based on micro-survey data of potato farmers in China's main potato-producing regions, this study utilized the Undesirable-SBM model, endogenous switching regression, and quantile regression model to reveal the average and heterogeneous impacts of farmers' internet use on the eco-efficiency of potato production. The results indicate that there is still significant room for improvement in the eco-efficiency of potato production in China's main potato-producing regions. Farmers using the internet can enhance the eco-efficiency of potato production. If potato farmers who do not currently use the internet start using it, their eco-efficiency of potato production would increase by 0.214 (35.20%). The improvement effect of internet use on the eco-efficiency of potato production increases and then decreases as eco-efficiency values rise.

This achievement contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between internet use and the eco-efficiency of potato production, providing valuable insights for enhancing the sustainable development of potato production and implementing the "Internet + Agriculture" strategy.

Researcher Luo Qiyou from the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences is the corresponding author of the paper, with doctoral student Lun Runqi as the first author. This research was jointly funded by the National Key Laboratory for Efficient Utilization of Farmland in Northern Arid and Semi-Arid Areas, the CARS—Potato, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the China Scholarship Council.

Article link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143794