Who Can Own American Farmland?

What does the National Farm Security Action Plan mean for foreign-owned businesses such as Syngenta?

- By David Geiger

In July, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the National Farm Security Action Plan, the Trump administration's effort to elevate American agriculture as a key element of national security. The announcement included a Foreign Farm Land Purchases map and a web portal to report violations of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA).

Rollins said in the announcement: “We feed the world. We lead the world. And we’ll never let foreign adversaries control our land, our labs, or our livelihoods.”

Impact on Foreign-Owned Agribusinesses

The effort to secure U.S. farmland creates uncertainty for foreign-owned agribusinesses such as Syngenta.

The Switzerland-based company said in a statement, “Our mission is to help American farmers grow safe and plentiful food, and to strengthen rural communities across the country.”

Syngenta is one of the world's oldest and largest agricultural companies; it claims to have roots going back nearly 250 years. For 50 years, Syngenta has worked with U.S. farmers, and now employs more than 4,000 people across 40 states and spends about $2 billion on U.S. goods and services. In 2017, Syngenta was bought by the Chinese-owned chemical manufacturer ChemChina. The landmark $43 billion deal was approved by the previous Trump administration.

Regret Over Major Merger

During the National Farm Security Action Plan announcement press conference, White House counselor Peter Navarro bemoaned that China was allowed to have more sway in agriculture.