In the 21st century, the agricultural revolution centered on transgenic technology was called the second green revolution. Scientists have confirmed that through the use of transgenic technology, the output and quality of agricultural products can be greatly improved. Therefore, even if the scientific community at home and abroad still has a lot of controversy in the field of transgenic crops, our government supports the development of genetically modified crops. For our country, which is in the development stage and has a large population, the active development of genetically-modified technology can not only meet the food shortages that may come, but also reduce the increase in production costs and the harm of pesticides.
Gain the income of transgenic cotton up to 2100 yuan
Our country's large-scale attempts and promotion of the marketization of genetically modified crops are mainly due to the natural demand of the market formed by "high and low" due to its high output and low cost.
Our reporter made an interesting comparison by visiting:
The reporter learned from the Department of Market and Economic Information of the Bureau of Agriculture of Dongtai City, Jiangsu Province that, taking Dongtai as an example, the price of conventional varieties of cotton (information, market) seeds is between 62 and 83 yuan, while hybrid and transgenic cotton seeds are not (including technology transfer costs) is about 89 to 99 yuan, while the high insect-resistant cotton will save 60% to 80% of the amount of pesticides per acre, not only that, many GM cotton also has a delicate plant type, good management, knot There are many bells, smooth spitting, and premature drought resistance. The length of cotton fiber is more than 31 millimeters and the fiber fineness is Class A. In the market, it will increase the income by nearly 20%.
According to other factors in the comprehensive planting process, more accurate figures show that planting transgenic cotton can reduce pesticides and labor costs by 900-1200 yuan per hectare, increase income by 1800-2100 yuan, and increase revenues and savings for the country and cotton farmers by 50 each year. - 60 billion yuan.
Yang Liexun of the National Science Foundation Management Science Department said that in the case of planting genetically modified insect-resistant cotton in Datian for seven consecutive years in Shandong and other places, the resistance of cotton bollworm has not increased significantly. This is a field for Chinese cotton farmers to plant transgenic insect-resistant cotton. Management is undoubtedly a good news. In addition, through the meticulous investigation of the National Natural Science Foundation, the situation of pesticide poisoning of farmers planting transgenic insect-resistant cotton has improved to varying degrees, and this survey result has also been published in many foreign scientific journals. Although this is not a dominant economic income, Yang Liexun said that the number of chronic poisoning accidents caused by spraying pesticides every year in China and the long-term living conditions of farmers living in excessive levels of pesticides are quite alarming. These accidents The occurrence of a devastating blow to any family and individual. Insect-resistant cotton has transformed “worm-eaten cotton†into “cotton-eating insect†through biotechnology, which has prevented potential hazards for countless cotton farmers.
Commercialization of genetically modified rice still takes time
China has not yet approved the commercial cultivation of genetically modified rice, and there is no country in the world that allows the application of transgenic technology to the production of staple foods. However, in Hubei, Guangdong, and Hainan, some farmers have secretly begun planting genetically modified rice. Experts estimate that the main obstacle to the commercialization of transgenic rice is that the applicant still needs more experiments to prove the safety of rice. It is understood that the price of genetically modified seeds is nearly twice as high as that of common hybrid rice. This is an important reason why agricultural companies are still actively selling GM rice varieties when the prospects for the approval of genetically modified rice are not clear, while transgenic rice seeds are used in late-stage pesticides. The reduction in inputs and the increase in production are the driving forces behind farmers’ willingness to choose GM rice. "Using this kind of seed has high yield and less investment at a later stage. Since we can make more money, why don't we use this seed?" said one farmer.
Unlike the successful entry of transgenic insect-resistant cotton into the market, it will take a long time before the commercialization of transgenic rice. In addition to the long-awaited debate on the safety of genetically modified foods, GM rice technology will compete with China's already well-developed hybrid rice technology to some extent.
The difference between transgenic rice and hybrid rice is, in short, hybrid rice is a hybrid of conventional rice varieties and wild rice or other varieties of rice. High yield is its greatest feature, while transgenic rice is the gene chain of other organisms. The transplantation of a portion of rice into rice may enable rice to have certain characteristics of the graft. For example, the current study is to place high-efficiency genes of C4 plants or algae organisms into rice genes to increase their yield. In contrast, because hybrid rice is a cross between the same species, its theoretical safety is obviously higher than that of transgenic rice. However, with the current development of GM rice cultivation technology, it is apparent that they still do not have the same competitiveness as hybrid rice.
Perhaps there is another "path" to the commercialization of GM rice. It is understood that the current Chinese hybrid rice research team headed by Academician Yuan Longping is studying the method of placing certain genes of wild rice into conventional rice to obtain high yields. Yuan Longping also personally wrote an article entitled "Affiliation of Super Hybrid Rice with Genetic Engineering Needed." Perhaps the combination of hybrid rice and genetically modified rice will become a "green channel" for the commercialization of transgenic rice in China.
Shanzhai genetically kills seed company profits
“Genesis simply does not have the conditions to monopolize the GM cotton market.†When referring to the topic of certain domestic gene companies circulating monopolized the GM cotton seed market, Genesis Yang, President of Genesis GM Technologies, said.
Previous reports said that Genesis Corporation monopolized the market for 90% of the domestic GM cotton varieties, and Miss Zhang of Genesis's sales department told the reporter that this data was “also not correctâ€. It is understood that the so-called "90%" means that 90% of the source of genetically modified cotton seeds in China is sourced from Genesis, and not Genesis Corporation directly sells 90% of domestic cotton varieties. Ms. Zhang revealed that there are many transgenic breeding and sales companies in China. Not all of these companies have the core technology for producing transgenic cotton seeds. They often take plants with genetically modified properties directly from the cotton field to breed on their own. This technique is not difficult. . Since the relevant insect-resistant gene once placed in the cotton seed, the cotton seed cultivated by it also bears resistance to insects. Therefore, many seed merchants use this method to avoid paying the relevant patent fees. For Genesis, many technologies were transferred to Genesis by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which became a reason why some seed merchants refused to pay royalties. The reporter called Shandong some kind of sub-sales company. When asked about the relevant patent fees, the company’s manager replied: “The Chinese Academy of Sciences is built by the state for money. It is plain, and its scientific research funds are taken from the pockets of the people. Selling the research results to a company, this company in turn has to control the people to collect money, this is too unacceptable."
It is understood that Monsanto, which has an absolute monopoly in the local market, charges a patent fee of US$20 per kilogram of transgenic insect-resistant cotton seeds in India. However, with the same genetically modified insect-resistant cotton seeds, Genesis can hardly collect any royalties in the country.
The industry often compares Genesis GM to China’s Monsanto, and Genesis becomes the biggest obstacle to China’s “Monsantoâ€.