GM seeds being used to secure staple crops

Authorities have handed out permits to 26 seed-makers to produce and distribute genetically modified corn and soybean seeds in the latest development of a national drive aimed at commercializing genetically modified organism technologies and other next-generation breeding techniques.

A circular by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Monday that corporate breeders, including public companies Dabeinong Group, Denghai Seed and Yuan Longping High-Tech Agriculture Co, were greenlighted to produce, process, package, wholesale or retail such seeds at designated sites such as some county-level jurisdictions in Gansu province and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The announcement came after the ministry earlier this month approved 51 genetically modified corn and soybean varieties for commercial production in China after a three-year trial of planting such crops in selected regions across the country.

The approval is the first of its kind given by the Chinese government to staple food crops, further expanding the commercial use of GM technologies long restricted to cotton and papaya.

The ministry said the approved crops include 37 GM corn varieties and 14 GM soybean varieties, which have been bred for stronger herbicide or insect resistance and produce higher yields.

Such properties are considered crucial to safeguarding food supply and reducing labor input as farming population is absorbed by urban factories and those remaining in rural homes are fast-aging.

For example, an approved corn candidate developed by Beijing Lantron Seed Corp has demonstrated a strong resistance against Asian corn borer, a destructive pest particularly in China and the Philippines, the ministry said.

The strain also survived four times the amount of herbicide acceptable for conventional corn varieties. A trial planting of the variety in 2021 showed that its yield reached more than 13 metric tons per hectare, which is 7.5 percent higher than non-GM varieties, it said.

Another approved soybean variety developed by Dabeinong Group was tested to ripen three days earlier than its conventional counterparts, and showed a strong resistance to two major types of herbicides used by soybean farmers.

A trial planting in 2020 showed it could boost the yield by more than 6 percent to more than 2.6 tons per hectare, the ministry said.

The GM varieties were greenlighted as part of a national drive to commercialize the production of homegrown GM corn and soybean amid rising protectionism and food security concerns induced by climate change, the pandemic and regional conflicts.

Before their formal approval, the GM candidates had been tested in various environments outside lab settings in 20 counties in Hebei, Jilin, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The commercialization drive for GMO corn and soybean epitomizes the sweeping effort by China to empower its seed sector and break the monopoly of quality crop seeds and farm animal species by the West.

While addressing a legislative session on Monday, Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, listed a number of highlights in agricultural technology advancement, including the improved research prowess of seed companies, whose investment in research and development climbed to 6 billion yuan ($857 million) last year, an increase of more than 50 percent from 2015.

Zhao pledged better corporate access to funding, talent and technology support, and more protection for their intellectual properties.