Seed market brims with vitality, safeguarding quality for farmers' seed use
Another batch of new varieties has passed approval, and another batch of old varieties has been withdrawn. Like the metabolism of the human body, as new varieties keep entering and old ones are eliminated, the seed market is full of vitality.
As new varieties make their debut, the variety approval system has once again come into people's view. For a long time, the debate over adhering to the approval system versus implementing a variety registration system has persisted. Relevant leaders of the Seed Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture have repeatedly expressed the view of adhering to the variety approval system. They believe that the reason for having an approval system is that grain, cotton, and oil cannot be allowed to spiral out of control. Which varieties can enter the market and the grades of varieties should be decided by the state. If enterprises were to decide, the current level of corporate integrity and farmers' ability to distinguish would not be sufficient. What farmers want is for the government to tell them which varieties are good and which are not.
In fact, such a proposition is not only held by the “officials” but also by the public. In interviews, many farmers said there are too many varieties on the market and they find it hard to choose. If the state could check quality for them, they would have much less to worry about. Peng Zhisong, a large-scale wheat grower in Guanwang Village, Taolin Town, Donghai County, Jiangsu, is a representative of this view. He told reporters that he thinks the variety approval system is very necessary: “What the state has approved is definitely qualified and quality-guaranteed.” Peng Zhisong farms more than 1,400 mu of land. The seeds he chose are “Jimai 22” and “Yannong 19.” The reason he chose these two varieties, Peng Zhisong said, is that they are “genuine goods from legitimate stores that have passed approval. Planting them gives you assurance and peace of mind.”
This simple way of thinking among farmers is also shared by dealers. Zhang Fumin, manager of Jilin Province Fumin Seed Industry Co., Ltd., excitedly reported the good news to reporters: the “Fumin 58” he bred has just passed provincial approval. Now, “Fumin 58,” which does not produce empty stalks even in a severe drought year, has a legal ID card, and along with another variety his company sells, “Liangyu 99,” both sell very well. Zhang Fumin said that without approval, the market would fundamentally lose oversight, which would also be bad for enterprises. He stated that everything sold in his store is legally approved seed. “Now the cost and price of breaking the law are high. People around here who used to sell unapproved seed no longer sell it. The proportion of farmers choosing legitimate seed is also growing.”
For some time to come, at least at the present stage, the variety approval system remains irreplaceable. Making it more complete as soon as possible so that farmers can choose new varieties more safely and conveniently is especially urgent. Li Liqiu, secretary-general of the Seed Association, said that the purpose of approval should be positioned on seed-use safety, and that reforming management measures and standards and reducing the types of crops subject to approval should be upheld. These points are all mentioned in the draft amendment to the Seed Law. For introducing varieties to adjacent ecological regions or to non-adjacent but ecologically similar regions, procedures should be simplified and the path widened. In this regard, the joint approach of the three provinces and municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, where one approval is shared by all three places, is a very good practice.
Besides regional issues, the excessively long variety approval time is also something people are dissatisfied with in this system. The famous breeder Li Denghai feels this deeply: the revised approval measures last year stipulate that the variety approval procedure is a preliminary trial in the first year, regional trials in years 2 to 3, production trials in the fourth year, and approval only in the second half of the fifth year. After the production period, production can only begin in the sixth year, and planting can only occur in the seventh year. This is clearly inconsistent with the state's requirement that we produce more results and produce them faster. Zhang Fumin believes the approval system should be more rational, and the most important thing is to shorten the number of years; otherwise, although a variety passes approval, it is already outdated. Fortunately, this session's National People's Congress motion suggested canceling the preliminary trial and going directly to regional trials, and if regional trial performance is good, additional trial sites can be added. In this way, approval efficiency can be accelerated.
As for variety withdrawal, almost everyone believes it is not only necessary but should be intensified. Timely withdrawal of varieties is greatly beneficial for purifying the seed market and ensuring farmers' safe use of seed. At present, the Ministry of Agriculture and all provinces have intensified variety withdrawal. In clearing out defective varieties, provinces such as Jiangsu and Hunan have taken major actions. Last year, Hunan conducted field surveys of watermelon and pepper varieties and promptly withdrew 6 watermelon varieties and 11 pepper varieties. This year, Jiangsu increased the coverage rate of main recommended varieties and implemented withdrawal for 122 major crop varieties including “Taihu Nuo,” among which 21 varieties still having a small area in production will be withdrawn from the market in 2017.
New varieties keep appearing, giving farmers more room to choose seed; old varieties are withdrawn, making farmers' seed choices safer and more effective. Under the protection of this double insurance, farmers' production safety and vital interests are better guaranteed. As the saying goes, once farmers can use seed safely, grain production safety is guaranteed, and the cornerstone of society is firm.