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Monday, Jul. 15, 2024

Is the Saudi Arabian company Fondonomote still leasing Arizona land to grow and export alfalfa?

Carmela Guaglianone, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
no

Arizona farmland is no longer being leased for alfalfa farming by the Saudi Arabian company Fondomonte.

Fondomente came under scrutiny for pumping unlimited groundwater in Arizona to grow alfalfa, which was then exported to Saudi Arabia for animal feed. One of the company's four contracts was terminated in October 2023 for violating its lease terms. The rest expired in February and were not renewed.

Irrigated agriculture accounts for nearly two thirds of groundwater use in the state. Some industrial-scale farms have also taken advantage of weaknesses in existing regulations, either consolidating land with grandfathered water rights tied to it, or by drilling deeper wells with higher capacity pumps when specific regulations don’t limit the amount of groundwater pumping.

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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.

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