3.2.4. Analysis of Empirical Results
We regressed the abovementioned variables on lnAGTFP, lnEC, and lnTC as fixed effects, respectively, and examined how various regions’ outcomes differ with the same influencing factors (
Table 6).
The level of convenient transportation significantly improves AGTFP. Rural roads serve as a “nexus” of regional economic and social interactions; this nexus is advantageous to speeding up the dissemination of rural information, external exchanges, and the urbanization process, breaking the naturally closed-off structure of rural areas, facilitating rural transportation conditions and investment environments, and promoting the development of rural production. According to the index decomposition, increased traffic accessibility has a significant positive effect on technical efficiency; developing transportation infrastructure, for example, can effectively empower various elements, including labor, capital, land, and technology, fostering the advancement of agricultural technological efficiency. In regard to the regions, accessibility has a non-significant but favorable impact on AGTFP in the south, but a considerable positive impact in the north and central areas; this results from the superior transportation infrastructure and higher levels of AGTFP in the northern and central areas.
The per capita disposable income of rural residents significantly improves AGTFP. The per capita disposable income of rural residents significantly improves AGTFP. Generally speaking, the greater the net income of rural residents, the more resources and money are available for investment in agricultural output, and the greater the advantages to the growth of local agriculture in a sustainable manner [
49]. According to the index decomposition, agricultural technical change is significantly influenced by the rural populations’ per capita disposable income. This may be because farmers, as rational economic agents, will adhere to the profit maximization principle when engaged in agricultural production and will take the initiative to select the appropriate cutting-edge agricultural technology, thereby preserving agricultural output and ultimately boosting market competitiveness. In regard to the region, in contrast to the others, the northern region’s disposable income per rural resident has contributed to significantly improving AGTFP. One explanation for this could be that the northern region is the area of greatest economic development in Jiangxi Province, which, along with the radiation-driven effect of Nanchang, the provincial capital city, means that farmers’ disposable income levels are relatively high, with a significant impact on AGTFP.
The degree of agricultural mechanization significantly inhibits AGTFP. Possible explanations include the following: On the one hand, the development of new ecological agriculture and the optimization of traditional farming practices are facilitated by the increase in agricultural mechanization [
8,
50,
51]. On the other hand, because agricultural mechanization has the same characteristics as petroleum agriculture, its excessive use will result in the wasting of petroleum resources and an increase in carbon emissions [
34,
52]. This indicates that Jiangxi Province’s agricultural mechanization has yet to advance to a high level, which prevents the rise of AGTFP. According to the index decomposition, agriculture technological change is significantly favorably influenced by the degree of agricultural mechanization; the main reason is that the integrated application of agricultural technology plays an increasingly significant role. Agricultural mechanization offers necessary material support for the development of modern agriculture, playing an increasingly significant role not only in cost-saving and efficiency-enhancing, but also in aspects where human, animal, and other alternative forms of power play a prominent role. In regard to the region, each region’s level of agricultural mechanization has a negligible impact; Jiangxi Province shows some level of agricultural machinery resource waste, which needs to be urgently addressed.
The urbanization level significantly inhibits AGTFP. This may be because a lot of rural residents have moved to the cities and towns, leading to losses in the labor force both quantitatively and qualitatively, and eventually resulting in the ageing and feminization of the work force. Another issue is that Jiangxi Province exports much of its rural workforce to neighboring, more developed cities, which causes a “depression” in the labor force. Second, the urbanization process’ land acquisition activities will have a detrimental effect on AGTFP. Continuous land acquisition will result in declining agricultural yields, because most high-yielding farmlands are near towns. This decline in single production will eventually result in a decrease in AGTFP. However, the deep integration of rural labor and the three industries can be made possible by urbanization up to a certain level, which will support the environmentally friendly development of agriculture; this demonstrates that Jiangxi Province’s urbanization level needs to be further deepened [
49]. According to the index decomposition, the level of urbanization has a significant negative effect on technical efficiency. This could be due to Jiangxi Province’s undeveloped level of rural urbanization, which results in an overallocation and underuse of agricultural resources and a deterioration in agricultural technological efficiency. Enhancing the feedback effect of urban support for rural communities is necessary. In regard to the region, the level of urbanization in the northern region has a significant negative effect on AGTFP; this is a result of the northern region’s rapid urban expansion and high level of urbanization. However, these factors also result in a lower level of agricultural labor in the northern region, which lowers AGTFP.
The level of financial support to agriculture significantly inhibits AGTFP. This demonstrates that Jiangxi’s economy, resources, and environment cannot develop in a coordinated manner under the current system of financial assistance for agriculture. On the one hand, financial support for agriculture can encourage the adoption of environmentally friendly technologies. On the other hand, direct or indirect non-reimbursable government transfers can easily disrupt the market’s competitive environment as it relates to agricultural development, leading to production practices that are harmful to the environment and ultimately impeding the growth of environmentally friendly agriculture. For instance, the overuse of fertilizers and pesticides in the production process has increased the amount of undesirable output, causing a “deviation” in the financial support for agriculture that limits the development of green agriculture. According to the index decomposition, the level of financial support for agriculture now significantly hinders technical change. This suggests that the structure of financial assistance for agriculture still needs to be refined and altered, because it now restricts agricultural technological innovation. In regard to the region, AGTFP is negatively impacted by financial support for agriculture in the northern and central areas. This suggests that the existing financial assistance provided to agriculture in the northern and central areas has reduced the effectiveness of green technology and increased the wasting of natural resources, which ultimately limits the growth of AGTFP.
The percentage of employees in secondary industry significantly inhibits AGTFP. The percentage of employees in the secondary sector reflects the degree of industrialization. A significant amount of production input derived from agricultural production, such as labor and capital, has been lost due to the current rise in the share of secondary-sector employees. However, the technological spillover effect is apparent. It also demonstrates that Jiangxi Province’s first and second industries require further improvements in their level of integration, and that the industrial structure requires additional optimization and adjustment. In regard to the index decomposition, the percentage of employees in the secondary industry significantly inhibits technical change. The secondary industry is still within its traditional rough production stage; a labor- and technology-intensive, less industrialized pattern is displayed within the secondary industry, which currently meets the demands of Jiangxi Province’s green agricultural development. In regard to the region, the percentage of employees in secondary industry in the northern region has manifested a significantly improved AGTFP. One explanation for this could be that the northern region has higher levels of industrial integration than other regions. This favors the creation of new agricultural production patterns and promotes the development of the green agricultural industry.
Agricultural industry structure has a non-significant negative effect on AGTFP. Modifying the structure of agricultural production directly impacts the intensity of application of chemical goods, such as fertilizers and pesticides. In recent years, the proportion of total agricultural, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery output value contributed by Jiangxi Province’s grain output has decreased. In contrast, the proportion contributed by cash crops has increased. However, compared to food crops, the usage of chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers on cash crops is now substantially higher. When the total area is planted under cash crops with increasing economic benefits, the intensity of chemical application will inevitably increase, which will ultimately limit the green development of agriculture [
53].
Openness to the outside world has a non-significant positive effect on AGTFP. Possible explanations for this include the following: On the one hand, the degree of agricultural openness to the outside world has increased the intensity of market competition, forcing production operators to increase green production inputs to gain an advantage within the fierce market, thus offering an endogenous impetus for green agricultural development. On the other hand, by allowing for more significant international trade, agricultural green production inputs can be increased by utilizing foreign capital and introducing cutting-edge production techniques, materials, and management strategies from other countries, which will give the sector an exogenous boost. In regard to the region, the level of openness to the outside world in the southern region has significantly improved the AGTFP; this is probably because the southern region has an exceptional geographic advantage and is situated conveniently on the coast.