Abstract: Farmers are the micro foundation of rural economy and the smallest unit of production, life, and communication in rural society. Food security is an important foundation of national security, and grain farmers are the main body of grain production, with strong representativeness in agricultural production and operation. Therefore, studying the production behavior of food and agriculture is of great significance for promoting rural economic development and ensuring food security. As a mutual aid professional organization, farmers' professional cooperatives play a crucial role in ensuring sustainable agricultural development, improving comprehensive food production capacity, and ensuring food security. This study is based on micro farmer survey data from Hebei and Shandong provinces, and uses propensity score matching method and mediation effect model to explore the impact and mechanism of participating in cooperatives on water-saving production behavior of food and agriculture. The research results indicate that participating in cooperatives can better promote the adoption of water-saving production behaviors by farmers. Cooperatives promote the adoption of water-saving production practices by farmers by providing water-saving technology training and obtaining government funding support.

Keywords: Cooperative; Water saving production; Food safety