Rooting out the fake seed problem requires relevant departments to step up and take responsibility

A few days ago, the Ministry of Agriculture released the results of a seed market inspection, issuing a warning that “these seeds should not be bought for spring plowing preparation.” A total of 44 kinds of seeds, including rice and corn, were found to be substandard, with the production and operating units located across 20 provinces and municipalities including Tianjin, Hunan and Guangdong. And at the beginning of last year, the Ministry of Agriculture announced in two batches 39 cases involving fake and inferior seeds, seeds promoted without approval, and unlicensed seed operations; mid-year it conducted a special inspection of seed production bases; and at the end of the year, all 27 seed-related cases at the bases were concluded.

Reporting seed-related cases and inspection results shows that the Ministry of Agriculture attaches importance to seed quality, which is absolutely necessary. No matter how good the farmland, how good the weather, or how good the technology a farmer has, if there is a problem with the seeds, then all the effort is a zero after the decimal point. Statistics show that seeds account for less than 1% of production costs, but once the seeds are fake, the other 99% of the investment goes down the drain along with them. In recent years, cases of total crop failure caused by substandard seeds have been heard of from time to time. A few years ago, farmers in Yueqing encountered fake seeds, and the affected area reached more than 1,300 mu. Although the growers did receive compensation, it was “nine parts short out of ten in compensation,” and the farmers still ended up losing out.

Publishing through inspections which seeds cannot be bought lets farmers see at a glance, and risks can be effectively prevented and controlled. But China is so large; are the seeds now announced as “not to be bought” the result of spot checks or the conclusion of a general survey? If these seeds are not bought, does that mean all other seeds are safe? If farmers avoid these 44 kinds of seeds, can they then rest easy? That promise is something probably no department would lightly make, which means that fake seed incidents will not “die out” just because of one announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Counterfeiting is repeatedly banned in our country yet continues to occur. When fake goods appear, relevant departments and experts usually provide identification knowledge, telling people what not to eat and what not to buy, but it is very difficult to clearly tell them what can be safely used and eaten. As a result, no sooner is one gourd pressed down than another floats up; some fake goods are avoided, while others still run rampant. This endless stream of fake goods incidents is in fact closely tied to improper control at the source. Without advance prevention and instead relying on an enforcement model of treating the foot when it hurts, it is almost impossible to make fake goods disappear and ensure that consumers' interests are not harmed.

Returning to the seed issue, the same principle applies. But seeds also have their particularity, namely that the identification cycle is relatively long. Usually one has to wait until they bloom or not, or bear fruit or not, to judge their quality, but by then “the coffin has already reached the Qingming Bridge.” For ordinary people, identifying them in advance is almost as difficult as dealing with food mixed with chemical raw materials. In short, it is necessary for the relevant parties to determine the blacklist of what “cannot be bought,” but what is even more important is to provide, according to the characteristics of different regions and planting structures, a “red list”——what to mainly promote, what to encourage, and what to guard against. Only such a “red and black list” would truly set farmers' minds at ease. But for such publication, the relevant departments need the courage to take responsibility and the confidence to back it up, and this is a real test of their sense of responsibility.