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 | Friday, April 28, 2000, updated at 09:45(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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China | ||||||||||||
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Legislators Show Concern for Rights of Seed BreedersChinese legislators have shown deep concern for the rights of seed breeders during a group discussion on the draft of the Seed Law at the current session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.Wang Youhui said the rights of the breeders have for long been ignored, as they merely get a token pay for breeding new species. Many speakers proposed that the rights of these breeders be defined more clearly in the law. Wang also suggested protecting the rights of those who are engaged in spreading new seed species. Wei Jisong expressed disagreement over Clause 27 of the draft which allows farmers to sell extra seeds they have bred for their own use. Wei said he has discovered in a local market in Nanjing, the provincial capital of Jiangsu, that the quality of seeds are getting worse because farmers are selling their seeds there. He asked that the clause be abolished, insisting that the administration of seeds may become out of control if farmers are allowed to sell seeds without government certification. But Tao Siju aired a different view, fearing that the adoption of a certification system may hamper the breeding of farm seeds. During the discussion, Xie Youqing proposed stricter control on transgenetic seeds by "adopting stricter safety-control measures." But Zhang Haoruo opposed Xie's suggestion, saying that an appraisal of the safety of transgenetic seeds would take too long and increase the cost. The participants agreed that it is necessary to create a seed law that protects the interests of farmers and boosts the development of agriculture and forestry in China.
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