How does agricultural resilience in China vary by region?

• Understanding regional variation in agricultural resilience can inform future development. • Agricultural resilience in China has increased from 2000 to 2022. • Agricultural resilience varied regionally in China. • Infrastructure, healthcare, education, and technology all influence resilience regionally. Understanding regional variation in agricultural resilience is crucial for promoting sustainable agricultural practices. However, research on the extent of agricultural resilience and its determinants in different regions of China remains limited. This study utilized data from the China Economic and Social Big Data Research Platform to extract relevant indicators, applied the entropy weight method to calculate indicator weights, and conducted an analysis of regional variations in agricultural resilience and its driving factors across 344 cities in China. The findings reveal a significant increase in agricultural resilience, rising from 0.158 to 0.330, with a consistent upward trend (P < 0.05). The spatial distribution of agricultural resilience demonstrates marked heterogeneity and clustering, with high-resilience areas predominantly concentrated in economically advanced coastal regions, while low-resilience areas are primarily located in less-developed western provinces. Key determinants of agricultural resilience include infrastructure, healthcare, education, technological advancements, and natural environmental factors, but the significance of these factors vary by region. This study underscores the necessity of region-specific strategies to enhance agricultural resilience, and emphasizes the integration of infrastructure development, localized agricultural education, and telemedicine systems to strengthen agricultural resilience. These findings offer insights for fostering resilient agriculture in China and other developing countries.