Do Land Resources and Green Energy Induce Agriculture and Water Production in China: Sustainability‐Based Evidence From Historical Data of China

ABSTRACT Rapid industrialization and globalization have led to significant concerns regarding the improper utilization of land resources. This is particularly troubling for agriculture and water resources from a sustainability perspective. The growing population boosts food, agriculture, and water demand. Therefore, scholars and policymakers are consistently investigating the factors affecting agriculture and water production to attain sustainable development. The present research aims to investigate the nexus between land resources and green energy for agriculture and water production in China. In doing so, we employ the extended data of China from 1973 to 2022. The research uses several diagnostic measures and concludes the mixed integration order of variables and the cointegration's validity. This research uses the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model and found that total land resources, per capita income, and green energy are the significant drivers of agriculture and water production in the short‐ and long run. However, foreign direct investment is the sole barrier to the country's agriculture and water production during both periods. The long‐run results are further checked via robustness tests, including quantile ARDL, cointegration regressions (fully modified ordinary least square, dynamic ordinary least square, canonical cointegration regression), and structural break least square. Besides, causal inferences are also found between the variables. The study recommends that further investment in research and development projects targeting green energy and efficient use of land resources might ensure sustainable agriculture and water availability.