The State of Arkansas has ordered Syngenta to divest 160 acres of farmland due to its ownership by a Chinese company. Syngenta has owned the land in northeast Arkansas for 35 years and it is used primarily for seed research. “The company that owns Syngenta, ChemChina, is on the Department of Defense’s list of Chinese military companies posing a clear threat to our state,” announced Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “Seeds are technology (and) Chinese state-owned corporations filter that technology back to their homeland, stealing American research and telling our enemies how to target American farms. That is a clear threat to our national security and our farmers.” Arkansas also fined Syngenta $280,000 for failing to disclose its foreign ownership on a timely basis. A Syngenta spokesperson voiced disappointment in the decision. Many states passed legislation banning foreign ownership of farmland after the Fufeng Group purchased 340 acres north of Grand Forks. The proposed corn wet-milling project was canceled in April when the Grand Forks City Council terminated its development agreement due to national security concerns.
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