On Jan. 15, the first China (Boao) Agricultural Scientific and Technological Innovation Forum, co-sponsored by Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture, and People's Government of Hainan Province was held in Boao, Hainan Province.
Zhang Taolin, Vice Minister of Agriculture said that elite varieties of seeds were important to agriculture driven by science and technology. Seeds were special and the most fundamental means of production, as well as the source of agricultural production, and were key to food security. Seeds were important for the increase of grain output for 6 years in a row. First, selection and breeding of seed varieties had been improved obviously. Second, supply of elite varieties had been enhanced greatly. Third, the competitiveness of seed enterprises had risen remarkably.
Zhang Taolin emphasized that we should speed up technological innovation in seed industry. First, we should increase the ability of technological innovation of seed enterprises: scale up support for science and technology, reorganize and consolidate scientific and technological forces, prioritize basic and non-profit researches conducted by scientific institutes and universities on germplasm resource innovation, breeding theories and methods, and cultivate major varieties. Second, we should improve capacity building in seed production: scale up the implementation of National Plan of Increasing 50 Million Tons of Grain Output and a new round of Seed Project Plan and speed up infrastructure construction of elite varieties production. Third, we should scale up management of seed industry: revise and improve relevant regulations and rules, improve examination criteria of varieties and threshold of market access, and standardize the examination, production and operation of GMOs.
Zhang Taolin said that we should coordinate multiple departments and push forward close cooperation among several links, reach consensus, consolidate resources in major respects, and achieve synergy and comprehensive advantages, so as to explore a better future for seed industry.
