Enhancing Food Security through Digital Inclusive Finance: Evidence from Agricultural Enterprises in China

Siqi Huang and Nik Hadiyan Nik Azman ()
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Siqi Huang: School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden 11800, Penang, Malaysia
Nik Hadiyan Nik Azman: School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden 11800, Penang, Malaysia

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-20

Abstract: As a means of enhancing food security, efficient agricultural processing and the maintenance of a smooth supply chain are essential for ensuring food quality and reducing food wastage. Agricultural enterprises play a crucial role in the processing and transportation of food from farms to dinner tables. Operating income growth plays the vital role of ensuring that agricultural enterprises function in a stable manner while also indicating the quantity and quality of market food supply. Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore the impact of digital inclusive finance on food security by analyzing the effect of digital inclusive finance on the operating income of agricultural enterprises in China. By applying pooled OLS analysis to Chinese agricultural enterprises that are listed in the National Equities Exchange and Quotations, this study finds that digital inclusive finance can help improve agricultural operating income. The results reveal that digital inclusive finance can facilitate the promotion of agricultural operating income by increasing the supply of financing, accelerating inventory liquidity, and supporting investment in research and development. In addition, this study concludes that digital inclusive finance is more effective for increasing agricultural operating income as a result of its wider coverage and deeper utilization. Furthermore, the development of traditional finance is still necessary for the digitization of digital inclusive finance to be effective.

Keywords: food security; digital inclusive finance; agricultural operating income; food quality and quantity; food wastage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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