China’s spy agency has singled out grain data and parent seeds as targets for foreign espionage. For investors and founders, the edge now lies in securing field-trial data, hardening on-farm devices, and proving chain-of-custody for germplasm—before regulation makes it mandatory.
What just happened—and why it matters
On November 3, 2025 (PT), China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) warned that foreign intelligence services are seeking to obtain grain data and seed resources, citing recent cases that included smuggling of restricted hybrid “parent seeds” and covert field surveys by foreign personnel. The message: food security is national security—and digital agronomy is part of the battlefield.
