In the process of rapid urbanization and industrialization, there is a significant gap between farmers’ participation and rural homestead reorganization for the more diversified external environment. Despite considerable research focused on homestead withdrawal, the transfer of rural residential land development rights has received comparatively little attention. To realize the optimal use of rural homesteads’ resources and reducing potential living risks, this paper conducted an empirical study on the impact of farmers’ livelihood capital on their behavioral intention of rural residential land development right transfer within Wujin District as an example by incorporating the concepts of livelihood capital and risk perception into the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The results of this research show that the increase in livelihood capital may reduce the level of risk perception. The livelihood capital influences farmers’ intentions towards rural residential land development right transfer through risk perception and individual cognition. Based on the findings of this study, it is suggested to diversify livelihood strategies and improve the quality of livelihood capital, in order to reduce the constraint impact of risk perception on farmers’ behavioral intention (BI).

The natural disasters caused by climate change are increasingly threatening the livelihood sustainability of rural households. How to enhance the adaptability of farmers has become a major issue that urgently needs to be addressed in rural development. An increasing amount of research suggests that the digital transformation in rural areas may provide solutions to this problem. This study selected large sample data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2014 to 2020 to empirically test the role of digital economy in mitigating the adverse impact of natural disasters on livelihood resilience of rural households in China. The empirical results indicate that although natural disasters have a significant negative impact on the livelihood resilience of rural households, the embedding of digital technology can alleviate this negative impact to some extent by expanding non-agricultural employment opportunities for rural households, enhancing households’ access to credit, and improving agricultural production strategies. During this process, the buffering capacity, self-organization ability, and learning ability of rural families have been significantly improved. Moreover, the mitigating effect of the digital economy exhibits heterogeneity. It is more pronounced in the central and western regions than in the eastern regions, and also more evident among high-income families relative to low-income families. The key to improving the benefits of digital technology may lie in tailored policy interventions and digital skills training for farmers. Finally, this study provides empirical evidence from rural China on the role of the digital economy in strengthening farmers’ adaptive capacity against disaster risks. While these findings are context-specific, they may still provide valuable insights for other agriculture-dependent developing countries facing persistent climate risks.