Impact of financial support for agriculture on grain ecological efficiency: Promotion or restriction—A dual-perspective analysis based on the intensity and scale of financial support for agriculture

Food security is the cornerstone of national security and financial support for agriculture is a crucial means of safeguarding it. Investigating the impact of financial support for agriculture on grain ecological efficiency is important for ensuring national food security, promoting sustainable agricultural development, and optimizing existing agricultural financial policies. Using provincial-level panel data from China from 2012 to 2021, this study empirically analyzed the influence of financial support intensity and scale on grain ecological efficiency from the perspectives of both absolute and relative financial support levels. The findings revealed that financial support for agriculture had a dual impact on grain ecological efficiency, where the intensity of financial support for agriculture significantly promoted grain ecological efficiency, while the scale of financial support for agriculture significantly inhibited it. The positive impact of the intensity of financial support for agriculture on grain ecological efficiency exhibited regional heterogeneity, with the balanced production-consumption region showing the greatest effect, followed by the major producing and consuming regions. The scale of financial support for agriculture had a negative impact on grain ecological efficiency in different regions, with only the major producing region showing a significant effect. Agricultural science and technological innovation, farmland management scale, and farmers’ income were important channels through which financial support for agriculture enhanced grain ecological efficiency. To effectively leverage funds to enhance grain ecological efficiency, it is imperative to intensify ecological subsidies and optimize financial expenditure structures. Therefore, differentiated financial policies tailored to the various functional grain zones should be implemented. Furthermore, enhancing agricultural technological innovation capabilities, increasing farmers’ income, and guiding moderate-scale farmland management can create favorable conditions for enhancing grain ecological efficiency. Theoretically, by combining the governance of public finance with resource and environmental constraints, an analytical framework can be structured to coordinate economic incentives and ecological objectives, thereby enriching the research scope of ecological economics. At the practical level, the proposal of relevant measures can provide a reference for achieving the dual objectives of food security and ecological security in China under the “dual carbon” goals.