Chinese Seed Industry Competitive in International Market: Agronomist

"After China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), China's seed industry will be able to compete with best seed companies in the world," said a Chinese corn specialist.

Li Denghai, a renowned agronomist on maize growing, made the remark in an exclusive interview with Xinhua prior to the National Agricultural Science Conference, which is due to open on January 15.

Li, also president of the Laizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences in east China's Shandong Province, set a world record of maize yield on per hectare by some 16.44 tons, which earned him the title "King of Maize".

"The seeds of the main crops produced in China, such as hybrid rice and hybrid maize, absolutely overpower those produced by foreign seed giants in terms of anti-disease quality and yield," he said.

In the meantime, the agronomist holds that creativity and industrialization are key to increasing the competitiveness of China's seed sector, citing his own success as an example.

In 1985, Li founded China's first private institute for maize research, and a model, based on the research results at the institute, has been put into practice.

The model has proved effective and his institute has developed into China's biggest private seed producer with total assets of 100 million yuan (about US$12 million), compared with the early investment of 20,000 yuan (about US$2,400).

Li's "Yedan" series of hybrid seeds have been spread to one third of the country's maize growing areas, helping increase corn production by 63 billion kg and economic returns by 60 billion yuan (about US$7.25 billion).

"After China joins the WTO, foreign seed companies will roll in. However, many limitations imposed on Chinese seed companies would

be removed at the same time," he said.

Thanks to the high quality of the seeds, Chinese seed companies will be able to enter the American seed market following its entry into the WTO, while currently the United States resolutely rejects such an entry, Li said.

As a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, Li called for more legal action to prohibit infringements of intellectual property and regional protectionism, which are hindering the development of China's seed industry.

Li points out that infringement of property rights by companies selling the new hybrid seeds is rampant and in some counties, seed varieties developed decades ago are still sold because selling new varieties hurts the interests of some local departments or individuals.

China has signed a series of international treaties on protection of new crop varieties, and the Seed Law has been put into force, which provides a solid legal basis for combating various illegal practices.

"Strict enforcement of relevant laws to create a fair environment is a precondition to improving the international competitiveness of China's seed industry," Li stressed.






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