Green agricultural development is a key pathway for advancing agricultural modernization and achieving sustainable development goals. The development of high-standard farmland not only contributes to ensuring food security but also presents significant opportunities for advancing green agricultural transformation and sustainable development (Zhang et al., 2023). Historically, agricultural expansion in China has depended on intensive resources use and chemical inputs, which has contributed to decline soil productivity and escalating ecological degradation (Zhang et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2023). This resource-intensive development model is unsustainable (Wang et al., 2023). Against this backdrop, advancing agricultural green transformation not only addresses China’s internal needs but also aligns with the global goal of “halting land degradation” outlined in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Yang et al., 2022). At the policy level, China has continuously strengthened institutional frameworks for high-standard farmland since its initial introduction in Central Document No. 1 (2005). The 2022 General Rules for High-Standard Farmland Construction (HSFC) further systematized construction requirements, covering three major domains: soil fertility improvement, farmland infrastructure development, and management standards (Zhou et al., 2024).

This initiative is not an isolated case; it resonates closely with the green transitions pursued by the European Union, Japan, the Netherlands, and other countries through approaches such as ecological agriculture, circular technologies, and precision management, all converging on the global goal of sustainable agriculture. However, unlike many countries that primarily rely on market mechanisms or regulatory incentives to implement isolated technological solutions, China approach is characterized by strong state leadership, centralized planning, and engineering-driven implementation. In ecologically fragile regions such as Qinghai, these projects go beyond agricultural modernization, serving as integrated interventions that enhance ecological resilience while securing farmers’ livelihoods. This distinctive model offers a valuable reference point for global regions facing similar environmental constraints and developmental challenges (Ma et al., 2018).

Academic research on high-standard farmland has yielded substantial findings, focusing on construction outcomes, practical challenges, implementation models, and influencing factors. Existing research indicate that development of HSFC promotes agricultural scaling expansion and enhances production specialization (Zhang et al., 2021), fosters the growth of new professional farmers (Zhao and Sun, 2022), and drives household income growth alongside county-level economic expansion (Zhang et al., 2019). In terms of models, classifications include intensive, industrial, and resource-based types (Zeng, 2014). However, practical challenges persist, such as regulatory gaps and a tendency to prioritize construction over management (Liu and Zhu, 2015; Liu et al., 2022). Furthermore, unclear responsibilities for maintenance and management severely undermine farmers’ willingness to participate (Cao and Zhao, 2017; Shi et al., 2022; Cao, 2023). Concurrently, digital literacy, a critical human capital influencing farmer behavior remains underexplored in terms of measurement and effects (Lu et al., 2023). Since Gilster (1997) defined it as “the ability to understand and use digital information resources,” related concepts (e.g., digital skills, digital competence) are often used interchangeably (Yang and Zhang, 2024). The European Union further conceptualizes it as a comprehensive capability encompassing critical and innovative usage (Qu et al., 2025). Although existing studies have attempted to construct indicator systems and measure them using metrics such as usage frequency, a unified standard remains elusive (Li et al., 2025). Additionally, recent studies indicate that systematically assessing groundwater potential and water quality is crucial for ensuring irrigation safety, optimizing land use, and enhancing agricultural productivity in high-standard farmland construction, which is particularly important in ecologically fragile or water-scarce regions (Gupta et al., 2021; Gupta et al., 2022; Gupta et al., 2024).

Overall, while existing research generally acknowledges the positive role of digital literacy in promoting agricultural technology adoption, its context-dependent nature and boundary conditions remain underexplored. There is particularly a lack of in-depth, systematic analysis of the interaction mechanisms between digital literacy and external institutional factors, such as information trust. In this context, Qinghai Province provides a particularly relevant setting: the region is ecologically fragile, has a relatively closed information environment, and is economically underdeveloped, with farmers exhibiting a high reliance on public governance systems and authoritative information. These conditions offer a unique opportunity to examine the interactive effects of digital literacy and information trust. Building on this, the present study integrates human capital theory and institutional theory to construct a measurement framework for farmers’ digital literacy and systematically analyze how digital literacy and information trust jointly influence farmers’ willingness to participate in HSFC. The findings not only deepen the understanding of the complex determinants of farmers’ behavior in ecologically vulnerable regions but also offer China-specific theoretical and practical insights for promoting agricultural green transformation in other ecologically fragile and developing regions worldwide.

Digital literacy, as a comprehensive manifestation of an individual’s ability to recognize, comprehend, and apply digital technologies, serves as a core human capital factor that impacts farmers’ engagement in the agricultural modernization process (Li et al., 2025). Drawing on Becker’s (1964) human capital theory, proficiency in knowledge and skills enhances individuals’ capacities for information processing and decision-making, thereby boosting their cognitive gains and willingness to adopt new technologies and initiatives. As a form of human capital that integrates mental and technical attributes, digital literacy helps alleviate farmers’ perceived barriers to accessing high-standard farmland-related information and technologies, while improving their understanding of technological usability (Makhafola et al., 2025). Furthermore, digital literacy enhances farmers’ knowledge of digital agricultural information platforms, policy communications, and operational procedures, thereby reducing the cognitive costs and uncertainties associated with participation (Shatila et al., 2025). Notably, improved digital literacy elevates farmers’ cognitive understanding of and trust in high-standard farmland construction, ultimately increasing their willingness to participate.

From an economic standpoint, digital literacy improves farmers capacity to process complex information, enhancing human capital and enables efficient decision-making under uncertainty. This allows farmers to better assess the long-term ecological and economic benefits derived from high-standard farmland relative to short-term costs (Wang et al., 2024). Consequently, farmers with higher digital literacy are more inclined to perceive HSFC as feasible and advantageous, thereby strengthening their willingness to participate. Based on this rationale, the following hypothesis is proposed.

According to institutional theory, organizations such as village committees act as key institutional agents. The authoritative information they disseminate can shape individuals’ cognitive and behavioral norms, fostering institutional trust (Weiqi et al., 2025). When trust in such external information is particularly high, farmers’ decision-making processes may shift from a rational calculation model, relying on personal capabilities, to a compliance model, dependent on institutional signals. Meanwhile, the attention-based view in management theory posits that decision-makers’ attention constitutes a scarce resource (Estadieu et al., 2025). When official information is perceived as highly reliable and sufficient to guide actions, farmers may rely on it rather than actively developing or applying their own digital literacy, instead prioritizing reliance on this convenient and authoritative external information source (Hu et al., 2021). This substitution effect can diminish the marginal contribution of digital literacy to decision-making and participation. Based on this, the following moderating hypothesis is proposed:

As presented in Table 2, the mean of the dependent variable is 0.867. This suggests that most farmers in Qinghai Province exhibit a high willingness to participate, with the vast majority of respondents holding a positive attitude toward the project. The core explanatory variable “farmers’ digital literacy,” comprehensively measured using the entropy method, yielded a mean value of 0.323. This indicates that the overall digital literacy of rural residents in Qinghai Province currently remains at a relatively low level and requires further enhancement.

The logistic regression analysis indicate that higher level of digital literacy is significant associated with increased willingness among Qinghai farmers to participate in HSFC, thereby validating Hypothesis H1. This finding aligns with existing research (Bai and Yang, 2025; Zhang and Zhang, 2024), further confirming that digital competence has become a critical human capital factor driving farmer participation in agricultural modernization and sustainable land management. From a human capital theory perspective, digital literacy enhances farmers’ informational competencies and promotes clearer interpretation of policy content, project benefits, and technical approaches. This fosters cognitive advantages and strengthens behavioral confidence in HSFC. Farmers with higher digital literacy can more effectively utilize channels such as online platforms and mobile devices to promptly access information about policy subsidies, land improvement progress, and technical support. This reduces information asymmetry and uncertainties in the participation process, strengthening their rational decision-making capabilities and willingness to engage.

Qinghai’s vast territory and dispersed village distribution underscore the limitations of traditional face-to-face information dissemination, making digital channels increasingly vital for the transfer of agricultural information. Farmers with higher digital literacy typically gain earlier access to government-released information and policy updates on HSFC. They accurately grasp policy directions and subsidy mechanisms while recognizing the project’s potential value in improving farmland water management, enhancing production efficiency, and boosting ecological benefits. Consequently, they are more inclined to view project participation as a rational decision to improve production capacity and mitigate operational risks (Zhu et al., 2020).

Further analysis grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior indicates that farmers’ willingness to participate in Qinghai is not driven solely by attitude-based cost–benefit assessments, but is more strongly shaped by subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. This pattern reflects the strong community embeddedness and collective orientation of rural society in agro-pastoral transition zones and multi-ethnic areas, where farmers’ decisions are closely tied to village organizations, neighbors’ behaviors, and collective expectations. The positive effect of subjective norms suggests that participation is more likely when HSFC is viewed as a socially endorsed collective action, while the significance of perceived behavioral control highlights the importance of farmers’ confidence in their ability to understand technical requirements and operational procedures. In contrast, behavioral attitude exhibits an inhibiting effect, reflecting farmers’ concerns about project-related risks and uncertainties under high-altitude conditions, including long construction cycles, delayed returns, and post-construction maintenance responsibilities. These findings imply that, in the Qinghai context, policy efforts should prioritize reducing perceived risks and implementation uncertainties rather than relying solely on attitudinal persuasion centered on long-term benefits.

Moderation analysis indicates that information trust negatively moderates the relationship between digital literacy and farmers’ willingness to participate in HSFC, confirming Hypothesis H2. Specifically, when information trust is high, the positive effect of digital literacy on participation weakens. From a social cognitive theory perspective, higher information trust may strengthen farmers’ tendency toward external attribution. In ecologically fragile and economically less developed regions such as Qinghai, farmers generally rely heavily on public governance systems. When authoritative information sources provide clear guidance, farmers are more likely to attribute decision-making responsibility and expected outcomes to external authorities rather than their own digital capabilities and information-processing skills. This externalization of responsibility diminishes intrinsic motivation to leverage personal digital literacy to influence decision outcomes, thereby partially “crowding out” the effect of digital literacy on behavioral willingness (Wang and Wang, 2024).

At the information-processing level, high trust in official channels, such as village committees, can generate a pronounced “cognitive substitution” effect. In rural Qinghai, where information flows are relatively limited, formal institutions and informal social networks jointly constitute the primary information environment for farmers. For those who could otherwise rely on digital literacy for independent judgment, highly authoritative external information directly provides clear decision-making cues, leading them to adopt an “experience-compliance” simplified decision-making model rather than investing cognitive resources to autonomously gather and analyze information. Such reliance on authoritative information reduces both the necessity and motivation to enhance digital literacy for optimizing individual decision-making, thereby weakening its marginal effect on participation (Ma and Zheng, 2023).

This study has important global implications. Notably, enhancing farmers’ digital literacy emerges as a key human capital strategy for promoting sustainable agricultural infrastructure, consistent with evidence that digital village initiatives improve green agricultural productivity (Li, 2025). The observed substitution effect of institutional trust indicates that highly authoritative information may reduce the marginal benefits of digital skills, a dynamic relevant in other high-trust contexts. By highlighting the interaction between digital capabilities and local trust in shaping participation, the findings can guide international development policies in ecologically fragile and resource-limited regions. Overall, integrating digital skill development with transparent, trustworthy institutions can support more effective rural revitalization and sustainable land-use outcomes (Wang et al., 2025; Zhang, 2021).

Drawing on the three key findings, this study proposes the following policy implications. First, digital literacy enhancement should be positioned as a core policy instrument for promoting HSFC and agricultural modernization. Given its significant positive effect on farmers’ participation willingness, digital literacy development should be systematically integrated into high-standard farmland programs and agricultural digitalization strategies. Targeted and differentiated digital skills training, combined with hands-on guidance in the use of agricultural digital platforms, can strengthen farmers’ ability to acquire, interpret, and apply policy-related information, thereby fostering endogenous motivation for participation in agricultural infrastructure development (Chen et al., 2025; Huang et al., 2023). Second, policy design and implementation should place greater emphasis on farmers psychological mechanisms by strengthening social norm guidance and perceived behavioral control. Since subjective norms and perceived behavioral control play a decisive role in shaping participation willingness, policymakers should leverage village-level organizations, farmer cooperatives, and demonstration households to reinforce the social legitimacy and collective recognition of participation in HSFC. At the same time, improving technical support, simplifying participation procedures, and reducing institutional barriers can enhance farmers’ perceptions of feasibility and controllability, thereby facilitating the translation of willingness into actual behavior (Jia and Cheng, 2024; Cai and Han, 2024). Third, capacity building and trust construction should be advanced in a coordinated manner to create an institutional environment conducive to the effective functioning of digital literacy. Given the dampening effect of information trust on the marginal role of digital literacy, policy implementation should avoid overreliance on top-down authoritative information dissemination. Instead, while maintaining transparency, consistency, and credibility in policy communication, greater attention should be paid to cultivating farmers’ independent information evaluation and digital decision-making capacities. By balancing institutional trust with individual capability development, digital literacy and trust can become mutually reinforcing, thereby enhancing the sustainability and effectiveness of farmers’ participation in HSFC (Yang et al., 2025; Zhang, 2025).

The results of the logistic regression indicate that digital literacy has a statistically significant positive effect on farmers’ willingness to participate, thereby supporting the core theoretical hypothesis of this study. This suggests that, in the context of agricultural digital transformation, digital literacy should be understood not merely as an individual skill, but as a critical form of human capital that enhances farmers’ capacity to access, comprehend, and respond to modern agricultural policies, providing a cognitive and behavioral foundation for engagement in agricultural infrastructure upgrading and sustainable development. Further analysis reveals that farmers’ participation decisions are shaped by a multidimensional behavioral structure. Subjective norms and perceived behavioral control significantly enhance farmers’ willingness to participate, whereas behavioral attitudes exhibit a suppressing effect. This result implies that farmers’ policy responses are not driven solely by rational cost–benefit calculations, but are deeply embedded in a psychological decision-making framework formed by social interactions and self-efficacy perceptions. Psychological mechanisms therefore play a crucial role in transmitting policy incentives into actual participation behavior.

The moderating effect analysis highlights the context-dependent nature of digital literacy. The results show that information trust negatively moderates the relationship between digital literacy and participation willingness. In high-trust information environments, farmers tend to rely more heavily on external authoritative information rather than on their own digital capabilities when making decisions, which in turn weakens the marginal effect of digital literacy. This finding indicates that the behavioral impact of digital literacy does not operate in isolation, but is conditioned by the credibility of the information environment and the broader structure of institutional trust.