The state of Arkansas is forcing a Chinese-owned seed producer to sell 160 acres of farmland it owns in the state over the next two years over national security concerns.
Syngenta, the parent company of Northrop King Seed Co., which also creates crop protection ingredients, has owned the land in Craighead County for more than 30 years.
But in 2017, it was acquired by China National Chemical Corp., which is on the U.S. Department of Defense’s list of Chinese military companies that pose a threat to our national security.
“Seeds are technology,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at a news conference Tuesday, asserting that countries that are hostile to the United States could use knowledge of American agricultural practices to their advantage.
“Chinese-owned state corporations leak that technology back to their home country, stealing American research and telling our enemies to target American farms,” he explained.
“This is a clear threat to our national security and our farmers.”
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin added: “The idea that the Chinese government would care about non-military assets is exactly what they have demonstrated over the past few decades.”
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Tuesday that the state will force a Chinese-owned company to sell its land within the next two years.KAIT
Griffin also announced at Tuesday’s news conference that Syngenta had missed a June deadline to disclose its foreign ownership, for which he will fine the company the state maximum of $280,000.
Syngenta will now have just 30 days to pay the fine, and if it doesn’t, Griffin warned, the state will consider removing its ownership of the land in the court system.
The company has since criticized the government’s response, noting in a statement that its land is “primarily used for research and development projects for the U.S. market” and is periodically reviewed by federal officials.
In 2017, Syngenta, the parent company of Northrop King Seed Co., was acquired by China National Chemical Corp.VCG via Getty Images
Chinese officials have also never dictated which areas of agricultural land they should buy or lease, or any of their other actions, said spokesman Saswato Das.
“The order for Syngenta to divest 160 acres of farmland in Craighead County, which the company has owned since 1988, is a short-sighted action that fails to take into account the effects of such action, intentional or unintentional, on the agricultural sector.” US. market,” Das said.
“Syngenta’s work in the U.S., including Arkansas, continues to benefit American farmers, strengthen American agriculture, and make the U.S. a more innovative and competitive participant in the global agricultural market.”
Syngenta has owned more than 160 acres of land in Craighead County, Arkansas for more than 30 years.KAIT
“Our people in Arkansas are Americans, led by Americans who care deeply about serving Arkansas farmers,” he added.
Tuesday’s announcement marks the first implementation of a bill Huckabee Sanders signed into law earlier this year to prohibit foreign entities from owning agricultural land in the state.
It is not yet clear whether other corporations will be involved in the application of Law 636.
The group says its land is “primarily used for research and development of projects for the US market.”
Foreign entities had interests in approximately 40 million acres of US farmland as of December 31, 2021, according to USDA records obtained by CNN.
That represented 3.1% of all privately owned land and just 1.8% of all land in the United States.
Meanwhile, China had less than 1% of the land in foreign hands, while Canadian investors owned 31%.
With mail cables.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn