Mitigating water grabbing of farmland transfer through plot up‐scaling and pro‐environmental investment: Evidence from Jiangsu, China

Abstract Water grabbing, which is prevalent in countries involved in farmland transfer, poses a new challenge to ensuring water, food and environmental security. This study utilises the database of the China Land Economic Survey (CLES) and Yitzhaki's relative deprivation index to quantitatively evaluate the impact of farmland transfer on water grabbing. The results indicate the existence of water grabbing in the context of farmland transfer in China. Furthermore, water grabbing represents a novel form of increasing water usage. Additionally, farmland transfer significantly and positively correlates with water use and water grabbing. Finally, both plot up‐scaling and pro‐environmental investment, along with their combination, can mitigate these effects and mutually reinforce each other. The study proposes that solutions for mitigating water grabbing lie in policy intervention, such as farmland consolidation and environmental regulation, necessitating government intervention.