China’s seeds, in an agricultural choke hold, must see breeding advancements
- Experts call on Beijing to diversify seed imports, increase collaboration between universities and companies, and employ smarter breeding techniques
- China’s agricultural technology gap, particularly with the US, has widened over the years, and it raises the risk of containment
During his 33 years of research across 23 African countries, 73-year-old Chinese agricultural scientist Jia Yinsuo collected 1,566 varieties of corn seeds to use in the breeding of better corn back home.
After returning to China in 2005, Jia spearheaded the Ministry of Agriculture’s seed resources project, then developed and released higher-yielding corn varieties – growing up to 1,500kg per mu (0.07 hectares, 0.16 acres) a year, by crossbreeding domestic and African varieties.
“We have used American corn resources too much already, and I think making full use of African seed resources to improve our own seed breeding is a sure way to go,” Jia said.
Owing to faster agricultural development in the United States, China’s corn production per mu – a Chinese unit of measurement – has fallen further behind the US in the past decade, currently at 314kg (692 pounds) less per mu from 200kg in 2005.
Our agricultural technology gap, particularly with the US, can’t be allowed to widen any further
“About 70 per cent of China’s corn seed comes from the US,” said Jia, who is also chairman of the African Academy of Sciences China branch. “Western countries, especially the US, have created a serious choke point on our seed resources.”