The Impact and Mechanism of Digital Villages on Agricultural Resilience in Ecologically Fragile Ethnic Areas: Evidence from China’s Provinces

Ecologically fragile ethnic areas constitute pivotal regions for rural revitalization and the construction of the Beautiful China initiative. The establishment of digital villages is of great significance for enhancing agricultural resilience and achieving common prosperity. Utilizing panel data from ecologically fragile ethnic areas between 2010 and 2020, this study employs a projection pursuit model to calculate scores for digital village levels and agricultural resilience. Building on this, our research employs instrumental variable methods and a mediation effect model to analyze the impact and mechanisms of digital village level on agricultural resilience in ecologically fragile ethnic areas, and heterogeneity analysis is conducted. The findings reveal that digital village level and agricultural resilience scores in ecologically fragile ethnic areas show a trend of initial increase followed by a decrease, exhibiting significant overall fluctuations and unstable growth. The promotion of digital village areas on agricultural resilience is evident, and this conclusion holds even after a series of tests including instrumental variables. Elevating the digital village level can narrow the urban–rural income gap and enhance agricultural resilience. There is significant regional heterogeneity in the impact of digital village levels on local agricultural resilience in ecologically fragile ethnic areas, with digital village development exerting a more pronounced and powerful driving force in areas with lower agricultural resilience. Therefore, leveraging the leadership of advantaged provinces, intensifying investment in digital village infrastructure, and implementing targeted strategies based on the disparities in digital village level and agricultural resilience across areas become imperative.