Chinese-owned seed producer must sell farmland after Arkansas enforces new ban on foreign entities

A Chinese-owned seed producer must sell its 160 acres of Arkansas farmland within the next two years. The state's Act 636, which recently went into effect, bans prohibited foreign parties from holding land in the state. China is considered a prohibited party.

In its first enforcement of the new law, Arkansas is forcing Chinese-owned Syngenta, the parent company of Northrop King Seed Co., to divest its acres of farmland in Craighead County. While the seed producer has owned the land for over 30 years, the company was acquired by China National Chemical Corp. in 2017. The United States Department of Defense lists the corporation as a national security threat, the New York Post reported.

During a Tuesday news conference, Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated, “Seeds are technology.” She explained that bad actors could use knowledge about America’s farming practices to their advantage, the Post reported.

“Chinese-owned state corporations filter that technology back to their homeland, stealing American research and telling our enemies to target American farms,” Sanders stated. “This is a clear threat to our national security and to our farmers.”

During the news conference, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said, “The idea that the Chinese government would care about non-military assets is exactly what they’ve demonstrated over the last few decades.”

According to Griffin, Syngenta had missed a deadline to report its foreign ties in June. As a result, the seed producer will be fined the maximum penalty of $280,000. If the company does not pay the fine within 30 days, the state could remove its ownership of the farmland, Griffin explained.

According to Saswato Das, a Syngenta spokesperson, the land in Arkansas is “primarily used for research and project development for the US market.” He added that the Craighead County employees are Americans “who care deeply about serving Arkansas farmers.”

Das noted that U.S. federal officials have conducted reviews of the company, and Chinese leaders have never dictated its actions.

“The order for Syngenta to divest itself of 160 acres of agricultural land in Craighead County, which the company has owned since 1988, is a shortsighted action that fails to account for the effects of such an action — intended or not, on the US agricultural market,” he stated. “Syngenta’s work in the US — including in Arkansas — continues to benefit American farmers, strengthens American agriculture and makes the US a more innovative and competitive participant in the global agricultural marketplace.”

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