Individual interests or collective goals: Can performance appraisal of local officials be a new way to achieve sustainable food production?

Implementing the RSPGFS is an essential means to guarantee food security. It is also a significant exploration in promoting the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity. Based on the principal-agent model, this paper explores the impact of the Responsibility System of Provincial Governors for Food Security (RSPGFS) on the coupling coordination degree of "Environment-Economy-Grain" (EEG_CCD) by using the data from prefecture-level cities from 2010 to 2021 and a difference-in-differences model. The study finds that the RSPGFS can improve EEG_CCD by increasing local grain production, promoting the development of the grain industry market, enhancing grain income, and preventing and controlling pollution in cropland. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals that differences influence this promotion effect in policy, natural, and human resources endowments. This study contributes to a better understanding of the interaction between central performance assessment and local officials' decision-making. It provides theoretical support and decision-making references for the central government to optimize the design of official governance models.