HAIKOU /China/, March 12. /TASS/. South China's Hainan province is successfully mastering new selective breeding technologies to increase the yield of important crops in high demand in domestic and foreign markets, the Sanya Daily newspaper reported.

According to the newspaper, the authorities of Sanya city located on the southern coast of the island have recently stepped up efforts to form the so-called selective breeding Silicon Valley, which will have a high international status and provide a wide range of professional work related to the development of new seed varieties, their planting, as well as the cultivation of viable plants. The cluster will also enable asset insurance, innovations in production, interdisciplinary scientific experiments, and intellectual property rights protection.

The Government of Sanya city allocated 17,800 hectares of land for advanced breeding projects, provided landscaped areas, modern equipment and housing for specialists, and built modern laboratories, educational buildings, and special medical facilities for their needs. The Yazhouwan Innovation Development Zone located on shore of the South China Sea plays a key role in the development of seed production projects, with more than 20 research and development institutions and specialized educational institutions. About 420 highly qualified agricultural specialists are working on the territory of this science city, who, in addition to rice, are engaged in projects related to many other crops, including corn.

The article noted that last year breeders in Sanya were successful in producing about 22.5 tons of rice per hectare in two harvests. The famous Chinese agronomist Yuan Longping (1930-2021), who spent a lot of time in Hainan and made an outstanding contribution to the development of agriculture, has strived for this figure, the newspaper wrote.Experts were also able to harvest 3.7 tons of soybeans per hectare on local plots, which is 1.8 times higher than the national average.

The Chinese government began developing seed production in Sanya in 1956, when the first group of specialists was sent there. In more than 60 years, more than 600,000 scientists have visited the local breeding base. Many of them have settled in Hainan. In addition, these projects are of great interest to foreign colleagues - breeders from Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America periodically come to the island.

Hainan plays a key role in China's seed breeding program. According to the government plans, the island will build a developed research and production complex capable of stimulating intensive development of agriculture throughout China in the coming years. It is expected that the facilities located on the territory of Yazhouwan will allow to significantly increase the food security in the whole country.