Abstract: Selecting the county as the unit of analysis, the convergence theory was applied to scientifically analyze the gaps and trends of inter-regional agricultural development. The research was based on three dimensions of the agricultural industry, production and operation, with 16 secondary indicators covered. Taking Shandong Province as an example, the entropy-weight method and the Delphi method were used to quantitatively evaluate the indicators weights, and then the high-quality development index of county-level agriculture was calculated. The results showed that agricultural development in the counties of Shandong Province was generally at a low level, situated in the primary stage of high-quality agricultural development, yet it exhibited an upward trend. And notable spatial correlations among regional agricultural development were observed. Through β-absolute convergence and α-convergence tests, it was found that while regional disparities in agricultural development showed an expanding trend, significant catch-up phenomena existed between counties. The research concluded that Shandong’s agricultural high-quality development remained in its initial phase, with inter-county development gaps expected to gradually narrow over time. It was recommended that counties should leverage local resources and geographical advantages, actively adopt information technology and scientific methods, and promote technological integration into agricultural practices to advance the province’s agricultural modernization.

Key words: agricultural high-quality development, evaluation system, convergence analysis, entropy method, Delphi method, counties of Shandong Province