The state of Arkansas on Tuesday ordered Syngenta to sell 160 acres of farmland owned by Syngenta subsidiary, Northrup King Seed Co., in the state because Syngenta is Chinese-owned, according to Reuters. Arkansas gave Syngenta two years to complete the sale. The state also levied a $280,000 fine against Syngenta for failing to report foreign ownership according to a specific timeline.
Syngenta’s spokesperson, chief communications officer Saswato Das, told Reuters that the decision was “short-sighted”. “Our people in Arkansas are Americans led by Americans who care deeply about serving Arkansas farmers. This action hurts Arkansas farmers more than anyone else.”
Syngenta owns about 1,500 acres of U.S. agricultural land. It uses that land for research, development and regulatory trials on products used by U.S. farmers. (By law, Syngenta must develop and tests on U.S. soil many of the products it sells in the U.S.). Northrup King Seed Co. has owned the land in question, located in Craighead County, for 35 years.
The forced sale is being ordered under an Arkansas state law passed earlier this year prohibiting land ownership by specific foreign parties, including individuals and companies based in China. The prohibition stems from concerns about national security, with China being subject to U.S. arms export controls (the International Traffic in Arms Regulations).
Reuters reported that, according to the USDA, foreigners owned approximately 40 million acres of U.S. agricultural lands as of December 31, 2021. Those holdings accounted for approximately 3.1% of all privately held agricultural land and 1.8% of all land in the United States. Of this foreign-held land, China ranked 18th in holdings at approximately 1% of all foreign-held land. Canadian investors held 31% of all foreign-held land.
