Objective/Meaning Science and technology funding is an important way to reduce the externalities of enterprises’ science and technology activities. By analyzing the impact of R & D investment subsidies on the innovation output of agriculture-related enterprises, it is helpful to enrich the theoretical explanation of the signal effect of science and technology funding, improve the incentive effect of science and technology funding, and provide inspiration for the formulation of government policies on science and technology subsidy.

Methods/Procedures By using the micro data of agricultural enterprises from 2011 to 2017, and based on the signal theory, the asymmetric impact of R&D funding and tax incentives on the innovation output of agricultural enterprises was analyzed. Then, the joint moderating effect of the international development and the nature of ownership of agricultural enterprises on science and technology funding was explored.

Results/Conclusions The results showed that R&D funding had an inverted “U”-shaped impact on the innovation output of agricultural enterprises, and tax incentives had a significant role in promoting the innovation output of agricultural enterprises. The internationalization of innovation in agricultural enterprises could strengthen the inverted “U” relationship between the research and development funding and innovation output, and positively regulate the positive correlation between tax incentives and enterprise innovation output. The internationalization of innovation in the state-owned agricultural enterprises had stronger regulatory effect on the research and development funding, tax incentives, and innovation output than the non-state-owned agricultural enterprises.