How does a world-class seed industry event boost agricultural transformation and upgrading?
Grain security underpins the world, and seeds cast the cornerstone. The crop seed industry is a nationally strategic and fundamental core industry, and the “lifeline” of modern agricultural development. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the central government has drawn up a blueprint for the development of the national seed industry and defined the direction for building a strong seed industry nation. The Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and the provincial government attach great importance to the development of the modern seed industry, have issued a series of policies and measures, advanced the reform of the seed industry system in an orderly manner, and supported and expanded seed enterprises, markedly strengthening the capacity for researching, developing and promoting new varieties and the capacity to guarantee production and seed supply.
Today, the 13th Guangdong Seed Industry Expo (hereinafter referred to as the “Seed Expo”), hosted by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Agriculture and organized by the Guangdong Provincial General Station of Agricultural Technology Extension, the Guangdong Seed Association and the Guangzhou Seed Chamber of Commerce, grandly opened at the Seed Industry Culture Square of the Provincial General Station of Agricultural Technology Extension in Kemulang, Guangzhou.
On the 11th, our reporter went ahead to “scout the camp” and reveal the highlights of this year's Seed Expo one by one. In interviews, our reporter learned that this year's Seed Expo takes “government guidance, enterprises as the main body, scientific and technological support, and service to farmers” as its purpose and “innovation, cooperation, development” as its theme. Nearly 6,000 excellent varieties representing the world's leading level of scientific research and breeding are displayed together in the fields, and more than 400 well-known Chinese and foreign seed enterprises, including the world's top 10, are exhibiting. It is a large comprehensive seed industry event integrating exhibition and display, trade negotiations and industry exchange. After more than ten years of development, the Guangdong Seed Expo has become a world-class seed industry event based in Guangdong, radiating across the country and renowned internationally, and a “weathervane” for the research, development and promotion of China's crop seed industry.
Written by Zhong Xiao
Photos provided by the Provincial Department of Agriculture
A seed industry event that is “down to earth”
6,000 varieties vie for beauty in the fields
“The Seed Expo is an exhibition truly held for farmers.” A relevant official of the Provincial Department of Agriculture told reporters that the Provincial Party Committee and the provincial government have always attached great importance to the Seed Expo, treating it as a key cultivation project among the province's top 500 modern industrial projects. Since 2002, the event has been successfully held 12 times, displaying nearly 60,000 excellent varieties from around the world, demonstrating and driving the promotion of several thousand excellent varieties each year, greatly enriching ordinary people's vegetable baskets, and directly driving farmers' incomes up by more than 3 billion yuan annually on average. It is precisely this strong driving effect that has brought the Seed Expo enormous social attention. Not only do domestic and foreign enterprises actively participate, but many farmer friends also come especially for its fame.
According to introductions, this year's Seed Expo has an exhibition area of nearly 10,000 sq m, including 48 special booths and 120 standard booths, with 5,965 varieties displayed in the fields and more than 300 field exhibition enterprises, making its scale the largest among similar exhibitions at home and abroad. At the exhibition site, many merchants were making their final sprint for the display. “We found that the procedures for this exhibition have been simplified, but the exhibition content is very rich. It can be said to be a gathering of fine products, including seeds and seedlings of crops such as grains, oil crops, vegetables, fruits, flowers and edible fungi, as well as seed industry equipment and preparations, fertilizers, information media, books and materials.” An industry insider with years of exhibition experience said that unlike the “pulling people in” participation situation in many places, people who come to the Guangdong Seed Expo all come voluntarily, because it can bring them real benefits and returns.
According to estimates by the Provincial Department of Agriculture, more than 30,000 visits will be made to this year's Seed Expo for on-site observation. The increasingly cool weather has not affected everyone's enthusiasm. “The most interesting thing about this event is that there is not only an indoor display but also a field display, combining greenhouse cultivation with open-field planting. It recommends not only good varieties but also good methods, so we have something to see and something to learn.” A farmer friend who has visited for many consecutive years told our reporter, “Those who voluntarily come to the event are not only enterprises; there are also many who farm the land. Everyone values this event for being ‘down to earth’ and able to bring everyone real, tangible benefits.”
A relevant official of the Provincial Department of Agriculture said that in order to adapt to the southern planting market and enrich the types of crops displayed, this year's Seed Expo specially increased the display and promotion of dryland grain crops, set up special display zones for selected high-quality varieties such as sweet potato and peanut, and increased the variety types from 11 categories in previous editions to 13 categories, bringing large growers, agricultural enterprises and agricultural product buyers planting varieties that are richer in variety, better in quality, higher in yield and more obvious in economic benefits.
High standards for industry exchange
Good varieties and good methods promoted together
Many exhibiting enterprises fully affirmed the professionalism of this year's Seed Expo. “The high scale and level of the Seed Expo are recognized within the industry.” A representative of a participating enterprise said in an interview with reporters that the world's top ten seed enterprises and well-known domestic seed enterprises all came, and the vast majority of the varieties displayed are varieties with independent intellectual property rights. “One third of them are foreign varieties, with very high technological content. It can be said that they represent the world's leading level of scientific research and breeding. Coming here to participate allows exchanges and discussions with top seed industry peers, and we learn a lot.”
What the Seed Expo displays is not only high-quality participating products, but also high-level planting technology. “According to the requirements of exhibiting enterprises and the characteristics of the varieties, we sow at the appropriate times, test the soil and apply fertilizer, and carry out integrated prevention and control. We use the most advanced intelligent solar insect killers to fully ensure energy efficiency, safety and environmental protection; at the same time, we comprehensively promote sprinkler and drip irrigation and integrated water and fertilizer technology to scientifically regulate the crop growth process.” A relevant official of the Provincial General Station of Agricultural Technology Extension explained in detail to our reporter, saying that only in this way could thousands of varieties of different types all be at the stage of their best commercial quality during the exhibition period, fully displaying their characteristics and traits. These technologies also became a major highlight for enterprises and farmer friends to observe.
In addition to its display function, this year's Seed Expo continues the style of holding exhibitions, displays, exchanges and negotiations in the same field. “The Seed Expo displays a complete range of varieties, bringing together the needs of different regions and different farmers, and carries out comprehensive synchronous publicity. It is not only a very good trading platform, but also a great display platform.” A representative of an exhibiting enterprise said that the construction of the Seed Expo venue is combined with the construction of an agricultural high-tech park, and the concept of seed industry culture is used to comprehensively beautify the Seed Expo site and surrounding environment, fully displaying the essence of modern urban agriculture, leisure agriculture, facility agriculture and technological agriculture. It is itself a representative of agricultural transformation and upgrading. The Seed Expo is open to the public free of charge, and the on-site display will continue until December 20. After the on-site display ends, the public can come to experience the fun of picking vegetables in the fields.
Driving the application of thousands of good varieties
Advancing agricultural structural adjustment
“To give a simple example, after excellent varieties such as storage- and transport-tolerant tomatoes were introduced and displayed, the breeding process for domestic varieties of the same type clearly accelerated, with remarkable benefits. According to incomplete statistics, the area cultivated with this variety in South China currently reaches more than 200,000 mu each year, with seed usage of 3,000 kg. Calculated at a seed cost of 80,000 yuan/kg, the seed value is 240 million yuan. The seed cost of newly bred varieties is only 5,000 yuan/kg. Calculated on this basis, seed costs alone can be saved by 225 million yuan.” A technician at the Provincial General Station of Agricultural Technology Extension said that the display and promotion at the Seed Expo powerfully promoted the adjustment of the province's agricultural variety structure and the application of excellent varieties in production, and can drive the production and application of several thousand excellent varieties each year.
In light of the actual situation of agricultural good-variety promotion in our province, the Provincial Department of Agriculture has continuously innovated promotion forms, successively building agricultural good-variety demonstration bases in Maoming City and Boluo County, and afterwards introducing agricultural good varieties suitable for local cultivation in many places for demonstration and display in a targeted manner, increasing the promotion intensity of agricultural good varieties, and gradually forming a province-wide good-variety demonstration, display and promotion network centered on the Provincial General Station of Agricultural Technology Extension and relying on agricultural departments and technology promotion departments at all levels. With the Guangdong Seed Expo as the leader, the Provincial Department of Agriculture has also guided and supported Maoming, Foshan, Guangzhou, Qingyuan, Heyuan, Boluo, Yangjiang, Wuchuan and other places in actively carrying out regional and highly targeted agricultural good-variety demonstration and display activities, effectively advancing the development of modern characteristic and efficient agriculture across the province.
The annual competition of thousands of varieties at the Seed Expo has brought rich seed resources to breeders in our province and across the country, provided diversified directions for breeding development, promoted the healthy development of Guangdong's seed industry, and strongly extended the seed industry chain.
■ Exhibition highlights
A first look at the three major highlights of the Seed Expo
Compared with previous editions, this year's Seed Expo is richer in content and has more highlights. Reporters learned in interviews that this year's event has made improvements in three aspects: it not only focuses on polishing the golden brand of the “variety selection activity,” but also increases the promotion of excellent technologies, while further highlighting the exchange of industry information and creating an integrated platform for seed industry exhibition, research, sales and marketing.