According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), a “congressional watchdog” group, approximately 40 million acres of U.S. farmland are now owned by foreign investors, including those from “the Republic Popular in China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.” .”
In a report released Friday titled “Foreign Investment in US Farmland: Improving Efforts to Collect, Track and Share Key Information Could Better Identify National Security Risks,” GAO states: “Foreign investment in US farmland grew to about 40 million acres by 2021. , according to USDA estimates. This can pose national security risks, such as when foreign interests buy land near US military installations.”
Furthermore, government agencies are unaware of the full extent of the danger posed by investors from adversary nations who are gobbling up land adjacent to “sensitive” US military bases.
GAO explains:
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) does not share timely data on foreign investments in agricultural land collected under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978, as amended (AFIDA). Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) agencies, including the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Treasury Department, identify and review transactions that may pose national security risks, such as the proximity of land agricultural to a sensitive military. base
USDA annually publishes selected AFIDA information online that CFIUS agencies can use when considering potential national security risks associated with agricultural land. Additionally, USDA officials said they respond quickly when they receive requests for information. However, DOD officials noted that they need more up-to-date and more specific AFIDA information, and need to receive this information more than once a year.
The USDA has requested funding to develop a real-time data system that can be accessed by other US government agencies and the public. In the meantime, sharing current data could help increase visibility of potential national security risks related to foreign investments in US farmland.
“Every year, FPAC-BC [Farm Production and Conservation Business Center] publishes a Foreign Holdings of US Agricultural Land report on its website, based on selected data collected from FSA-153 forms submitted pursuant to the AFIDA reporting requirement. The report includes aggregate information for US states and counties,” GAO notes. “However, it does not include any other information collected by USDA, such as detailed ownership information, country affiliations of all foreign investors, and locations of individual farmland transactions.”
“Additionally, USDA officials told us that during calendar year 2023, they have been maintaining a real-time record of AFIDA's filing activity for investors in the People's Republic of China, Russia , Iran, and North Korea,” GAO adds. “USDA plans to include this information in its 2023 AFIDA Annual Report.”
Land purchases have raised concerns in Congress.
“Members of Congress have expressed concern that some foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land, such as land purchased near U.S. military bases or purchases of land that could lead to foreign control of agricultural supply chains US food, may have national security implications,” GAO reports. “Specifically, in 2022, members expressed concern about a US subsidiary of a company from the People's Republic of China purchasing farmland near Grand Forks Air Force Base in Dakota North, given the use of sensitive drone technology at the base.”
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) called the GAO report “troubling.”
“This disturbing @USGAO report confirms what we already know: Our foreign adversaries are gaining a foothold on American soil by buying up our farmland and we need policy changes to stop it,” he wrote in X. “It's time of the House. stop obstructing my bipartisan bill to get the job done.”
This disturbing report of @USGAO it confirms what we already know: Our foreign adversaries are gaining a foothold on American soil by buying up our farmland, and we need policy changes to stop it. It's time for the House to stop filibustering my bipartisan bill to get the job done. https://t.co/6eHLQdIkk9
— Senator Jon Tester (@SenatorTester) January 19, 2024
“As we learn more about the details of this developing situation, it underscores the need for Congress to do more to protect American agricultural security and prevent our foreign adversaries from controlling our nation's food supply while access land near sensitive military sites.” Tester said, according to the daily mail.
“This report confirms our worst fear: USDA has no idea who owns what land and where, and they have no plan to rectify it,” Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) said in a statement. X. “Food security is national security. , and we cannot allow foreign adversaries to influence our food supply while we stick our heads in the sand.”
This report confirms our worst fear: USDA has no idea who owns what land and where, and they have no plan to rectify this.
Food security is national security, and we cannot allow foreign adversaries to influence our food supply while we bury our heads in the sand. https://t.co/cUXs2fsGi1
— Rep. Dan Newhouse (@RepNewhouse) January 19, 2024
“Data from the USDA report, released last month, shows that investors from 99 countries have a claim on US land,” reports the Daily Mail. “The list includes the Republic of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela.
“Together, investors from these adversary nations own about 95,000 acres of agricultural land.”
“The USDA congressional report determined that Canadian investors own the most foreign-owned U.S. farmland at 12.8 million acres,” according to the outlet. “Following the US country are investors from the Netherlands (4.9 million acres), Italy (2.7 million acres), the United Kingdom (2.5 million acres) and Germany (2 .3 million acres).”
“The total 40.8 million acres covers agricultural land and non-agricultural land,” says the Daily Mail. “Forest land accounted for 47 percent of all foreign-owned land, cropland 29 percent, and pasture and other agricultural land 22 percent. Non-agricultural land (such as houses and roads) accounted for the two percent.”
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