Strong Measures to Advance the Industrialization of Genetically Modified Crops
At an academic seminar on genetically modified technology and sustainable development held in Beijing a few days ago, researcher Huang Dafang, former director of the Biotechnology Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, revealed that at present the number of researchers in China engaged in genetically modified research has reached more than 10,000, and the transgenic innovation capacity of crops such as cotton, rice and corn has been further enhanced.
According to Huang Dafang, after more than 20 years of effort, although the overall strength of biological breeding still lags considerably behind that of multinational companies, China has already possessed a research and development team composed of more than 10,000 scientific and technological personnel. It has initially built one of the few biological breeding innovation and industrial development systems in the world, including key links such as gene discovery, genetic transformation, improved seed cultivation, industrial development and application promotion, and safety evaluation. At present, China already owns independent intellectual property rights for a number of functional genes and core technologies, including pest and disease resistance, herbicide resistance, and high quality and stress resistance. The transgenic research and innovation capacity of crops such as cotton, rice and corn has been further enhanced, and its own characteristics and comparative advantages have initially taken shape.
Chinese researchers have cloned a number of important trait genes with independent intellectual property rights, reserving important core technologies and gene resources for the cultivation of new genetically modified crop varieties. Huang Dafang hopes that by 2020, that is, before the national major special project on genetically modified crops ends, new safety certificates will still be approved, and the intensity of industrialization can be increased. He believes that the development of plant biotechnology has become an irresistible general trend, and strong measures should be taken to advance the industrialization of genetically modified crops, while at the same time strengthening the scientific communication and popular science outreach on genetically modified organisms.
This seminar was jointly hosted by the Science Popularization Department of the China Association for Science and Technology and the China Office of the International Life Sciences Institute.