Quantitative Evaluation of China's High-Standard Farmland Construction Policy: A Novel Approach Using the PMC Index Model (2011–2024)

China's high-standard farmland construction (HSFC) stands as a cornerstone in safeguarding national grain security and nurturing sustainable agricultural development. A quantitative evaluation of HSFC policies serves as a potent methodology for refining and enhancing the policy architecture. This paper selects 174 policy documents on HSFC issued by the State Council and various ministries and commissions of China from 2011 to 2024. Firstly, the ROSTCM 6.0 tool is utilized to perform text mining. Subsequently, based on the keywords extracted from the text mining, a PMC index evaluation model for HSFC policies is constructed to quantitatively evaluate these 174 policies. Furthermore, according to the characteristics of policy development, the process is divided into three stages, and an in-depth analysis is carried out on these three stages. The highlights of this article lie in the use of the PMC index model and the integration of policy stage analysis. The PMC index model can intuitively show the overall situation of the policy as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each policy, which meets the research needs of the HSFC policy. By studying the textual development process of HSFC policy, this article identifies that the PMC index for HSFC policies was rated as “good and perfect” during 2011–2024. PMC surfaces show different states at different policy stages, generally with ups and downs at the time of policy formulation, and gradually smoothing out thereafter. Based on the characteristics of the different stages of development of the policies, this paper puts forward corresponding recommendations for the optimization of the HSFC policies and other policies.