HAIKOU /China/, Nov. 23. /TASS/. The city of Sanya on the southern coast of Hainan province will develop plant breeding and seed production projects with the Dutch company KeyGene. This was reported by the Hainan Daily newspaper.
According to the newspaper, the Sanya branch of the Chinese genomics center called BGI Group has established a partnership with the Dutch organization. The partnership with the BGI Group is based in Sanya, China, and is expected to lead to the creation of products that are as bacteria- and insect-friendly as possible, thanks to Chinese nanotechnology and the Netherlands' expertise in genetics and seed breeding.
"Through our collaboration with BGI Group's Sanya subsidiary, we will be researching and creating internationally advanced products," stressed KeyGene CEO Arjen van Tunen. "This will contribute to maintaining global food security."
Fang Xiaodong, BGI Group subsidiary head, said the R&D unit he leads is ready to widely use its technology in international projects. According to him, the cooperation with KeyGene "creates excellent opportunities for plant breeding projects."
Sanya plays a key role in China's plant breeding, seed breeding and international agricultural best practices programs. Local projects attract the attention of several hundred research organizations, leading universities and enterprises every year. Thousands of specialists from different regions of China, as well as from other countries, participate in them. Closely related to these important developments was the fate of the leading Chinese breeder, the "father of hybrid rice," Yuan Longping (1930-2021), who regularly visited the island during winter for more than 50 years.