The seed industry reform dividend is about to enter the harvest period

With the completion of a whole set of laws, regulations, policies and measures established in the course of reform and innovation for scientifically governing the seed industry in accordance with the law, the development environment for the seed industry will gradually reach optimality.

Looking back at 2014, under the guidance of the new national seed industry policy and through the unremitting efforts and arduous struggle of people in the seed industry, China's crop seed industry successfully responded to a series of severe challenges in the process of advancing seed industry reform and development, including the continued downturn in industry prosperity, industry profit margins and concentration stagnating, less than satisfactory seed market order, and difficulty in getting seed industry innovation resources to flow to enterprises. The crisis of surplus seeds of the two hybrid crops basically achieved a “soft landing”; changes appeared in the production and operation service methods of seed enterprises; precise combined heavy punches were delivered in the supervision of seed market order; large-scale seed industry alliances and mergers and reorganizations frequently achieved success; substantive steps were taken in the reform of the seed industry science and technology system; and a group of breakthrough new varieties suited to modern agricultural development emerged, nurturing strong positive energy for the rapid, healthy and stable development of the seed industry.

With the completion of a whole set of laws, regulations, policies and measures established in the course of reform and innovation for scientifically governing the seed industry in accordance with the law, the development environment for the seed industry will gradually reach optimality. The effects of the laws, regulations, policies and systems will begin to show in a concentrated way starting from 2015, and the dividend of seed industry reform and institutional innovation will enter the harvest period.

Since 2011, the dominant position of seed enterprises in innovation has been established, and seed enterprises have increased investment in scientific research and strengthened cooperation between science and enterprises. A group of enterprises integrating breeding, propagation and promotion have established commercial breeding systems. Guided by market demand and by solving major problems in developing modern agriculture, and on the basis of high yield, good quality, multiple resistance and wide adaptability, they have bred a group of new varieties suited to mechanization by making labor saving the breakthrough point. In particular, corn varieties suited to mechanical grain harvesting have already gained momentum, signaling that the clarion call for a new round of corn variety replacement has been sounded, and the fruits of seed industry scientific and technological innovation will enter a period of dividend realization.

During the two consecutive years of seed market adjustment, China's seed industry enterprises practiced their internal skills diligently, and their business philosophy completed the shift from being enterprise-centered to being centered on agricultural operating entities. In recent years, innovation and exploration in seed industry technical service methods have taken the seed's performance and production capacity as the core and comprehensive services across the entire industry chain for various new types of agricultural operating entities as the object. This will bring huge value increments to the seed industry, inject strong vitality into its development, and the value of seed industry technical services will enter a period of rapid growth.

In 2014, some industrial and commercial capital and financial capital had already opened the prelude to large-scale entry into the seed industry. At present, the seed market has shown recovery from the bottom, and enterprises that have already undergone effective alliances, mergers and reorganizations will integrate and complement resources and advantages, and will certainly achieve faster development. Becoming bigger through mergers and acquisitions and stronger through mergers and acquisitions, mergers and reorganizations will become the main theme for seed industry enterprises to become bigger and stronger.