As China advances high-quality agricultural development, promoting green production among farmers has become an important policy priority. Using survey data from 1787 rice farmers in seven major rice-producing provinces in southern China, this study examines whether enterprise-led contract farming can promote farmers’ green production behavior. Green production behavior is measured by a composite index based on six practices, including green control technology, soil testing and formulated fertilization, organic fertilizer substitution, water-saving irrigation, agricultural film recycling, and straw return. Empirical analysis results show that enterprise-led contract farming can significantly promote farmers’ green production behavior. Further analysis suggests that food safety certification, planting technology training, and lower perceived price volatility are important pathways through which contract farming is linked to green production practices. The promoting effect is weaker among older farmers, stronger for farmers cultivating land with medium soil fertility, and more pronounced among small-scale rice farmers. These findings highlight the role of enterprise-led contract farming in promoting farmers’ green production and offer policy implications for encouraging wider participation in green production practices.

Agricultural socialized service has expanded rapidly within China’s smallholder farming system, yet evidence on their relationship with land productivity remains limited. Using three waves of data from the China Land Economic Survey between 2020 and 2022, this study examines the association between agricultural production outsourcing and land productivity. The results show that outsourcing participation is associated with 4% to 5% higher land productivity, with the positive association remaining broadly robust across alternative estimators and identification strategies. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that this association is stronger on land with better soil fertility, among older-generation farmers, and among small-scale farmers. Further analysis suggests that outsourcing participation is associated with higher fertilizer application intensity, greater mechanization, and lower household agricultural labor input, providing evidence on potential channels linking outsourcing to land productivity. These findings highlight the potential role of specialized agricultural services in relaxing production constraints faced by smallholders, while also suggesting that their productivity implications depend on household and land characteristics.