Agricultural sustainability and foreign agricultural investment in BRICS: cointegration and causality insights

Purpose This study explores the causal relationship between foreign agricultural investment (FAI) and sustainable development goals (SDGs) in BRICS countries from 2000 to 2023, focusing on zero hunger, water and sanitation, gender equality, responsible consumption and production, life on land and life below water. Design/methodology/approach The study applies a vector autoregressive granger causality framework using the modified Wald test for short-run relationship and trace and maximum eigenvalue approaches of Johansen cointegration to assess long-term relationships. Moreover, augmented Dickey-Fuller statistics are assessed to ensure stationarity across variables for BRICS nations. Findings The findings suggest that foreign agricultural investment granger causes SDG2 in all BRICS countries except China, showing inverse causality. FAI is also significantly related to SDG5, SDG6, SDG12, SDG14 and SDG 15 either directly or inversely. Cointegration tests show plausible long-term relationships based on the error correction models of the Johansen cointegration with varying cointegrating equations. Practical implications BRICS countries should design policies and frameworks that harness FAI to directly address hunger (SDG2) while simultaneously promoting sustainable agricultural practices that support gender equality (SDG5), responsible consumption (SDG12) and environmental sustainability (SDG14 and SDG15). To maximize impact, governments should focus on aligning FAI with national development goals, ensuring investments are directed toward inclusive and eco-friendly agricultural projects. Originality/value This study uniquely assesses the long- and short-run relationships between FAI and SDGs within BRICS, offering country-specific insights that aid policymakers in promoting effective investment strategies for sustainable development.