China to develop new varieties of wheat, corn and soybeans to reduce dependence on imports

On Friday, China issued guidelines to promote biotech farming, focusing on gene editing tools and the development of new varieties of wheat, corn, and soybeans. Reuters reports.

The plan for 2024-2028 aims to create “independent and controlled” seed sources for key crops, focusing on the cultivation of high-yielding varieties of wheat, high oil corn, high yielding corn, and canola.

The move comes as China steps up efforts to increase domestic yields of key crops such as soybeans to reduce dependence on imports from countries such as the United States amid a looming trade war.

The document commits to researching and developing precision gene-editing tools with independent intellectual property and improving key cultivation technologies, the statement said.

In addition, efforts will be made to breed high-performance livestock, including pigs with strong reproductive capacity and high feed conversion, as well as disease-resistant broiler chickens.

Tags: China, corn, soybean, wheat