Academics and entrepreneurs presented their newest research findings in the various sub-forums of this Congress. "This year's reports cover complete fields with many highlights, involving a large number of major crops such as horticultural crops, food structure, and the combination of biotechnology and traditional technology," says Deng Guanglian, spokesman for the 2023 China Seed Congress. Jia Yinsuo, AAS Fellowship "I brought 1,566 germplasm resources from 23 African countries."
"I believe that corn breeding in China and throughout the world should fully utilize African germplasm resources in order to reinvent our seed business and enrich the Chinese corn germplasm resource bank." Nearly 1,900 high-quality new varieties were displayed at the Congress' field exhibition venue. Experts and scholars flocked to the fields to observe and share their knowledge. This year marks the 59th year that Hainan researcher Cheng Xiangwen has been developing maize seeds.
He is strongly touched by the quick expansion of the national seed breeding base in Hainan, dubbed "Nanfan Silicon Valley." Cheng Xiangwen, Honorary President of Henan Province's Hebi Academy of Agricultural Sciences "Following the establishment of the Nanfan Silicon Valley, field management was modernized, and laboratories were established." Domestic and international genetic resources can be acquired, developed, and popularized here, providing a solid foundation for China's agricultural development and food security."
Lu Baohong, Shanxi Agricultural University's Cotton Research Institute "Experts in breeding from across the country and even the world convene here to exchange ideas and share cutting-edge information." From the 1950s to the present, 600,000 researchers have visited Hainan for scientific study and breeding purposes. More than 70% of the approximately 30,000 novel crop types developed since the People's Republic of China's founding have been tested in Nanfan.
Peng Jun, President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences' Sanya Nanfan Research Institute "We have constructed relevant facilities for scientific research on seed breeding here, as well as prepared a wild rice germplasm resource spectrum, among other things." The Nanfan Silicon Valley has begun to take shape as a result of our efforts in recent years."
Hainan is assisting the seed breeding industry through the continuous growth of a free trade port, industrial upgrading programs, and policies boosting the commercialization of scientific discoveries. Jiang Zhimin, Deputy Director-General, Administration of Sanya Yazhou Bay Sci-tech City "We have spent billions of yuan to elevate the experimental conditions in Yazhou Bay Sci-tech City to a national level of excellence."
Currently, approximately 1,000 enterprises related to the seed sector are registered in Sci-tech City, providing a very good ecosystem. With policy and system advantages, Hainan is going all out to become a Nanfan Silicon Valley, integrating scientific research, manufacturing, sales, technical exchanges, and achievement commercialization to service the entire Chinese market.
