An investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals that the Biden administration is falling short in monitoring foreign ownership of U.S. farmlands, lacking a plan to address the issue.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reportedly failed to consistently share timely data on foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land, as required by the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) established in 1978.
The GAO report indicates that the USDA’s processes to collect, track, and report key information are flawed, hindering visibility into potential national security risks associated with foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land, Fox News Digital reports.
According to the investigation, USDA collects AFIDA data on paper forms, making the process unclear and challenging to implement.
The agency also lacks plans to create an online AFIDA database, despite Congress mandating its establishment by 2025. The GAO’s review of AFIDA data revealed errors in reporting, including the largest landholding associated with China being reported twice.
The apparent lack of oversight and transparency has raised concerns about the security of U.S. food and energy supplies. The most recent USDA data, from 2021, suggests that foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land has reached approximately 40 million acres.
More and more of America's most fertile land is being snapped up by China — yet problems with how the US tracks such data makes it difficult to know just how much https://t.co/zGK01sNrPx
— Bloomberg Markets (@markets) January 18, 2024
Chinese agricultural investment alone has increased tenfold between 2009 and 2016. Republican lawmakers and local leaders have intensified scrutiny on land purchases by foreign investors, particularly those from China, amid fears of compromising national security.
The GAO’s findings prompted strong criticism from Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse, who emphasized the importance of food security as a national security concern. He expressed disappointment in the USDA’s inability to address the issue and announced plans to introduce measures aimed at fixing the agency’s reporting and data management.
Joe Biden’s Department of Agriculture continues to keep Americans in the dark on how much of our farmland is owned by Communist China. This is unacceptable.
Communist China is purchasing our agricultural land to subvert our sovereignty and upend our rural communities.…
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) January 19, 2024
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer emphasized the threat to food and national security posed by growing foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, particularly by China.
They stressed the need for a comprehensive government approach to safeguard farmland and the food supply.
The investigation coincidentally comes after Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s meeting with Chinese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian, highlighting the ongoing complexities in the U.S.-China relationship. The GAO’s recommendations for improved data tracking would require congressional action, funding, and modernization of USDA processes, acknowledging the challenges and potential risks to individual privacy and the price of agricultural land.
