November 5, 2024 | 23:22 GMT +7

  • Click to copy
Thursday- 08:47, 30/03/2023

China food security: domestic seed industry plagued by lack of innovation, officials warn

(VAN) Chinese officials have once again sounded the alarm about “over-reliance” on seed imports, as food security continues to grow as a national priority.
China faces increasing pressure to feed its 1.4 billion people and mounting external uncertainty, says Xi Jinping. Photo: Xinhua

China faces increasing pressure to feed its 1.4 billion people and mounting external uncertainty, says Xi Jinping. Photo: Xinhua

China’s seed industry lacks competitiveness in major vegetables such as corn and “seriously relies on imports” for most non-staple food, a group of officials from central China said in a recently published article.

“High-end vegetable seeds from overseas are sold by number, but home-grown vegetable seeds are sold by weight. The gap in their market value is huge,” officials from Hubei province’s seed administration wrote.

Dubbed the “chips of agriculture”, seeds bred in China are generally deemed of low quality and low efficiency, while the industry suffers from a lack of innovation and is losing its edge in the global market, said the article published last week in the country’s top agricultural journal, China Seed Industry.

China has vowed to boost support for seed breeding technologies to ensure food security amid worsening ties with the US – where most of its food and seed imports come from – and prepare for the increasing impact of climate change, urbanisation and shifting diets.

“The 1.4 billion people in our country were well fed in the past couple of years and we’ve held our bowls steadily in our own hands. Now, the demand for food is increasing, so is the pressure of holding the bowl,” President Xi Jinping said in the annual national rural work conference in December.

The country saw a deficit of 350 million yuan (US$50.9 million) in crop seed trade in 2021, mainly driven by the demand for vegetables, according to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Considering seed technology and preserving farmland are the two top priorities for China’s food production, the central government issued a seed industry revitalisation plan in 2021 in the aim of having control of seed sources.

Despite the fact foreign breeders occupy just 3 per cent of China’s seed market, domestically produced seeds of corn and soybean are “more than 20 years behind” the United States in terms of yields, the Hubei officials said.

Yields of both crops are only about 60 per cent of those growing in the US, they said.

While a strong industry requires long-term commitment, many domestic seed companies are short-sighted and share a mentality of “being satisfied with small wealth”, they said.

In a move to consolidate the sector, the agriculture ministry last year picked 276 domestic breeders that would receive special government support in capital and talent.

At a meeting with representatives from these state-supported companies over the weekend, it said their innovation and competitiveness have been strengthened through increased investment and enhanced cooperation with research institutes and financial companies.

But Huo Xuexi, a professor of agricultural economics from Northwest A&F University, said China would need decades of time to get where the West is now in seed breeding.

“Revitalising the seed industry is a tall order,” he said, referring to China’s ambition to achieve self-reliance.

“First of all, we need at least 10 years to figure out basic scientific questions in agriculture, and then it will take another long period to bring basic research results to the market.”

HD

(SCMP)

Meeting the new demands of the EUDR

Meeting the new demands of the EUDR

(VAN) Sophisticated automation enables users to send hundreds of data collection requests with a single click.

Small farmers in Europe struggle to get by

Small farmers in Europe struggle to get by

(VAN) Brutal economic situation has inflicted misery on farmers who struggle to turn a profit and forced some to look for alternative streams of revenue.

China intensifies emergency food supply amid increasing extreme weather events

China intensifies emergency food supply amid increasing extreme weather events

China has reinforced its emergency food supply in response to increasing extreme weather events and natural disasters, an official said.

Scientists dismayed as UK ministers clear way for gene editing of crops - but not animals

Scientists dismayed as UK ministers clear way for gene editing of crops - but not animals

(VAN) Advocates urge government to allow ‘precision breeding’ to combat disease, but RSPCA warns of ethical dangers.

Expectations positive, but tempered on GM wheat in US

Expectations positive, but tempered on GM wheat in US

(VAN) HB4 wheat’s USDA approval will enable Bioceres to 'move forward with nonregulated field activities for product development and commercialization,' CEO Federico Trucco said in September.

Famine and catastrophic hunger in 5 major hotspots alongside the looming La Niña_climate threat in others

Famine and catastrophic hunger in 5 major hotspots alongside the looming La Niña_climate threat in others

(VAN) Acute food insecurity is set to increase in magnitude and severity in 22 countries and territories.

Pharma and agritech groups push against biodiversity levy at UN summit

Pharma and agritech groups push against biodiversity levy at UN summit

(VAN) One contentious proposal seeks to impose 1% levy on returns from products made using genetic data.

Read more