China food security: Syngenta buyout shows Beijing’s haste to plug technology gap with foreign expertise
- China has quickly used the agritech expertise of Switzerland-based Syngenta to meet food security goals after it bought the firm for US$43 billion in 2017
- But acquisitions of foreign technology have become more difficult in recent years as developed countries erect barriers to China’s purchases
Liu Ligang, a farmer from Weixian county in the northern Chinese province of Hebei, was prepared to give up growing crops in 2018, just three years after he began leasing 160 mu (10.7 hectares) of land at an annual cost of about 128,000 yuan (US$19,800).
“I kept losing money, the output failed to increase. I was already thinking about returning the land and didn’t want to plant any more,” Liu said as he sat in a conference room owned by ag-tech giant Syngenta Group China in Weixian.
However, his attitude changed when a team of agriculture specialists affiliated with Syngenta approached him three years ago, assessed his land and offered him customised seeds, herbicides, fertilisers and support services.
The support was not free, with the company charging 204 yuan per mu for the corn package, but for Liu it was worth it.
“Gradually I got to break even, then turned a profit. I made over 100,000 yuan last year growing wheat and corn,” Liu said. “I will continue to lease the land.”
Liu’s experience with Syngenta underscores China’s eagerness to acquire foreign technology and put in to work to meet its policy goals, including ensuring food security.