Coupling coordination of digital finance, green fiscal support, and green technology adoption in China's agri-food systems

Whether agri-food systems can move toward lower emissions depends not just on how strong each enabling factor is, but on how well finance, public support, and production technology advance in step with one another. This study measures the coupling coordination degree among digital finance, green fiscal support, and agricultural green technology adoption across 30 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2023, and traces its spatiotemporal patterns, regional disparities, convergence, and constraining factors. The entropy weight method and a three-system coupling coordination model are paired with Dagum Gini decomposition, convergence tests, and an obstacle-degree diagnosis. Coordination climbed from 0.37 to 0.71 across the period, shifting from mild imbalance toward intermediate coordination, yet an eastern–central–western gradient held throughout. Overall disparities narrowed, and gaps between regions made up close to 85% of the total. Coefficients of variation fell nationally and within each belt, both absolute and conditional convergence held, and the western region closed its gap fastest. Over time the binding constraint moved away from digital finance toward green fiscal support and fertilizer-use efficiency. Coordination and agricultural carbon intensity were negatively related, though the pattern reflects correlation rather than an identified causal effect. Together these results show where coordinated development falls short and what holds it back, giving some basis for regionally differentiated policy.