The Road Ahead for the Newly Revised Seed Law Is Full of Bumps
The 17th session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress deliberated and passed the amendment to the Seed Law of the People's Republic of China, which officially took effect on January 1 this year. This is a major event for the seed industry! It is also a major event affecting the lives of hundreds of millions of farmers!
The revision of the Seed Law took 3 years; the draft amendment was open for public comment for 1 month, with 1,559 people participating and 8,022 comments submitted, reflecting the competent department's new style of "opening the door to candid advice and listening to public opinion." Voices representing all sides expressed their views and demands, but in the end it was the officials who raised the gavel and made the final decision.
In brief, the new Seed Law retains the variety approval system for major crops, but compresses the crops subject to approval from the original 28 to 5: rice, corn, wheat, soybean and cotton, and implements a variety registration system for some non-major crops. It adds two new chapters on new variety protection and support policies, merges the original three chapters on seed production, seed operation and seed use into one chapter on seed production and operation, and merges the original two chapters on seed quality and seed administration into one chapter on seed supervision and management.
On paper, the new Seed Law embodies three major legislative guiding ideas: first, encouraging innovative development and deepening the reform of the seed industry system; second, advancing streamlined administration and delegated powers and giving full play to the decisive role of the market; third, strengthening primary responsibility and effectively protecting farmers' lawful rights and interests. These three aspects are both the highlights and precisely the difficulties.
The question of "whether to keep or abolish the variety approval system" was the most intense controversy triggered during the revision of the Seed Law. 88% of the opinions concentrated on this.
The official position advocated "retaining the variety approval system." The basis is that the credit system of the seed market has not yet been fully established, and many seed enterprises do not follow the rules; most seed enterprises do not have the ability to complete variety trials on their own; farmers who use seeds have no ability to distinguish among seeds, are greatly influenced by advertising, and once problems occur they go to the government. China's seed marketization is still in its early stages, the rule of law is not yet sound, and the number of enterprises and farmers is enormous, so prior supervision and technical checks are necessary. Although the variety approval system has drawbacks, emphasis should be placed on its "gatekeeping" and "baton" functions before seeds enter the market, and it should be gradually improved while being retained.
Most enterprises advocated "abolishing the variety approval system." The reasons are: as a product of the planned economy era, the variety approval system has shackled enterprises' independent innovation and is unsuited to the development of a market economy. The variety approval system suffers from rent-seeking by power, excessively long approval times, and approval standards disconnected from market demand; varieties that pass approval are not necessarily suitable for promotion in local conditions. It must be recognized that the variety approval system is a product of the planned economy and conflicts with the market economy; the overall direction of the variety registration system is to adapt to the development of the market economy and it will gradually be improved. Which gains and which losses, one must take the long view.