The emergence of agricultural cooperatives is extensively viewed as a necessary institutional arrangement that can help farmers in developing countries overcome the constraints that impede them from improving sustainable agricultural production and acquiring new marketing opportunities. Therefore, this study examines the determinants of cooperative membership and its impact on fish farm household income, using data collected from two regions in Ghana. An endogenous switching regression (ESR) model is utilized to address the potential sample selection bias issue. The results show that household heads’ decisions to join cooperatives are affected by their access to credit, off-farm work, education level, and peer influence. Cooperative membership can increase both household and farm income by 28.54% and 34.75%, respectively. Moreover, we show that different groups of households’ cooperative impacts on farm and household income are heterogeneous. Our findings highlight the importance of cooperative patronization and provide implications that can improve households’ welfare.

Amidst global sustainability challenges, green finance emerges as a crucial instrument for advancing sustainable development, garnering increasing attention for its pivotal role in fostering high-quality economic development (HQED), particularly within the dynamic economic landscape of China. This study delves into the nexus between green finance and HQED across 30 Chinese provinces from 2012 to 2021. Employing the entropy method, indices for green finance and HQED index system are calculated, and their interaction is analyzed through a panel data model, incorporating tests for moderating effects of FinTech and green technological innovation, as well as assessing the heterogeneity across diverse regions. The findings highlight green finance’s significant role in enhancing HQED, with notable regional disparities. Specifically, the eastern region shows the strongest impact, followed by the central region, while the western and northeastern regions exhibit weaker influences. The study also identifies FinTech and green technological innovation as pivotal moderators, amplifying green finance’s positive effect on HQED. These insights underscore green finance’s importance in driving sustainable economic growth and highlight the necessity for region-specific strategies to optimize its impact. Policy recommendations based on these findings include prioritizing the development of green finance, formulating region-specific strategies, and leveraging the catalytic roles of FinTech and green technological innovation to enhance the efficacy of green finance in achieving HQED.

Introduction: In the digital economy era, the application of digital technologies plays a crucial role in strengthening the food supply chain, especially in ensuring food security. The study of how the digital economy impacts the resilience of the food supply chain is of great practical significance.Methods: Based on provincial data from China from 2008 to 2023, this research employs fixed effect, mediation effect, and threshold models. These models are utilized to explore the mechanism through which the digital economy improves the resilience of the food supply chain.Results: The findings indicate that the digital economy has a significant positive effect on enhancing the resilience of the food supply chain. This positive relationship remains stable even after considering potential endogeneity problems. Specifically, the impact of the digital economy is more prominent in major food—producing regions, showing their advantages in using digital development to boost supply chain stability and efficiency. Additionally, information technology adoption acts as an important mediating factor in the relationship between the digital economy and supply chain resilience, and there is a threshold effect of fiscal investment in science and technology on the impact of the digital economy on supply chain resilience.Discussion: The results suggest that to fully utilize the potential of the digital economy, accelerate the digital and intelligent upgrade of the food supply chain, strengthen its resilience, and promote high—quality agricultural development, the government should take actions. These include accelerating the construction of digital infrastructure, promoting the digital transformation of the food industry, strengthening regional cooperation, and enhancing the resilience of the food supply chain to ensure food security.

Introduction: Food production stands as a critical global concern necessitating comprehensive investigation. This study utilizes provincial-level data from China to explore the intricate relationships between farmland transfer, agricultural loans, and grain production, with the aim of shedding light on the complexities of these dynamics.Methods: A two-way fixed effects model and instrumental variable approach are applied to assess the interplay between farmland transfer, agricultural loans, and grain production. These methods provide a robust framework for understanding the complex relationships among these variables.Results and discussion: The study reveals a notable positive correlation between farmland transfer and grain production. Conversely, agricultural loans demonstrate a significantly negative impact on grain production. However, the positive interaction term between farmland transfer and agricultural loans suggests a nuanced relationship. While profit-driven financial activities may not inherently favor grain production, they contribute to more efficient utilization of farmland resources, ultimately promoting grain production. The findings underscore the significance of continued government support for rural land system reform and active guidance of farmland transfer. It is emphasized that a moderate-scale operation of farmland is crucial for finance to play a lubricating and catalytic role. Furthermore, there is a need to guide agricultural finance towards investing in medium and long-term projects of agricultural production. Attention is also directed to preventing potential food crises arising from the phenomenon of “non- farming” associated with agricultural loans.