Twelve domestic hybrid rice seed companies including Longping High-tech, Grand Agriseeds, Hefei Fengle, etc. are planning to jointly set up a molecular breeding platform for hybrid rice, with a total investment of USD48 million (RMB300 million). This pioneering move is expected to promote the commercial breeding capacity of domestic hybrid rice seed companies, according to CCM’s latest report, Seed China News 1305.
Hefei Fengle Seed Co., Ltd. (Hefei Fengle, the first listed seed enterprise in China) released an announcement on 4 May, 2013: it recently signed a cooperation framework with 11 companies to jointly set up a molecular breeding platform for hybrid rice. The 11 partners include Yuan Longping High-tech Agriculture Co., Ltd. (Longping High-tech), Grand Agriseeds Technology, Inc. (Grand Agriseeds), Winall Hi-Tech Seed Co., Ltd. (Winall Hi-tech), Hubei Provincial Seed Group Co., Ltd., etc., all of which are engaged in rice seed business.
Under the cooperation framework agreement, the molecular breeding platform will be registered as a corporate legal entity, mainly undertaking the R&D of biotechnology in hybrid rice breeding. Its major functions cover the mapping, cloning and protection of key genes of backbone parents, the development of specific molecular markers and high-throughput molecular detection techniques, the phenotypic identification of backbone parents and superior germplasm resources, the research in dominant populations, etc. Its designed business activities cover technical R&D (excluding commercial breeding), patent licensing, technology transfer, testing services, consulting for breeding design, personnel training, etc.
The molecular breeding platform will play a role as a half non-profit research institute to provide its fundamental research achievements and technical services to seed enterprises. According to the framework agreement, the molecular breeding platform shall neither be engaged in commercial crop breeding nor business operation for crop seeds; its R&D achievements shall be delivered to seed enterprises by means of sale or transfer. Relying on its professional functions which combine frontier biotechnology with hybrid rice research, the overall commercial breeding capacity in domestic seed industry could be improved.
"It's a pioneering act that domestic seed enterprises set up a joint R&D platform, the future role of which is worth looking forward to," said Tong Pingya, a well-known research expert on seed industry in China. Mr. Tong also believes that this new cooperation among seed enterprises would be more valuable that the one between seed enterprises and research academies/institutes–the latter is usually a mere formality without really strengthening the commercial breeding capacity of domestic seed enterprises.
The formation of this molecular breeding platform also received governmental support. As reported, the Bureau of Seed Management, the Ministry of Agriculture of China has taken the lead to encourage this cooperation, aiming at promoting the commercial breeding capability of the domestic seed industry to cope with the thriving development of multinational seed corporations. In accordance with the government's objective to boosting the core competitiveness of domestic biological breeding, the molecular breeding platform will actively apply to governmental support for hardware construction and operation funds.
At present, the establishment of the molecular breeding platform is still under planning, which requires the joint efforts of the 12 companies in drawing and signing a formal contract and related legal documents. They plan to register the platform company in May 2013 which will be located in Changsha City, Hunan Province and complete the construction of the platform in Feb. 2014.
Table of Contents of Seed China News 1305:
Subsidies on improved crop seed varieties in 2013 similar with 2012
Corn varieties from seed multinationals grab large market share in China
Market share of pink tomato will increase in Northeast China
GM corn seeds from the US uncovered in Harbin
Longping High-tech suffers sharp drop in net profit excluding irregular gains in 2012
Hefei Fengle reports sound performance in 2012
Wanxiang Doneed attains lackluster performance in 2012
Gansu Dunhuang suffers huge losses in 2012
Shandong: alfalfa planting increasing in saline land
China's rapeseed cultivation and harvesting entering mechanization era
Hybrid rice molecular breeding platform to be founded by seed companies
Seed China News, a monthly publication issued by CCM at the end of every month, mainly covers a diversity of topics, including market dynamic, company dynamic, crops, seed market, etc. With the latest news in seed industry and in-depth analysis on government direction and market competition, Seed China News can provide you with valid information which would help you make rational decisions in investment, production, marketing, etc.
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