China's seed industry is entering a historic turning point.

Author: Tong Pingya
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: The seed industry management in China is characterized by a fragmented structure and a lack of a unified authority. As a member of the World Trade Organization, China's seed industry is integrating into the global economic integration wave, creating a new landscape for market competition in the seed industry. This is primarily reflected in:
First, the abolition of the monopoly and exclusive management system for major crop seeds, liberalizing the seed market;
Second, breaking the monopoly of state-owned companies, allowing seed enterprises of various ownership forms to develop together;
Third, establishing the legal status of plant variety rights, protecting intellectual property rights of varieties;
Fourth, implementing bilateral international trade, encouraging the import and export of seeds.
In summary, a vibrant seed market has emerged. The author no longer elaborates on the significant achievements of China's seed industry development after the reform and opening-up, but instead explores issues through research and investigation to help find ways and directions to accelerate the marketization process of China's seed industry.
China's government institutional reform adopted a gradual transition and phased breakthrough, proposing the separation of government and enterprise functions and the transformation of government functions. In the 1990s, the central government vigorously promoted administrative system reform, establishing a "government-led" reform framework, which brought significant changes to China's seed industry management institutions. The report of the 15th National Congress pointed out that while economic system reform was being carried out, political system reform should also be synchronized. An important issue is that during government institutional reform, it is necessary to further streamline institutions, with the core being the transformation of functions. The government's focus should be on macro-control. To adapt to the situation of administrative system reform, the Ministry of Agriculture shifted its focus to macro-control, adopting measures such as streamlining administrative bodies, retaining professional talents, and establishing new public institutions.
In August 1995, the Ministry of Agriculture decided to merge the National Seed Station, the National Agricultural Extension Station, the National Plant Protection Station, and the National Soil and Fertilizer Station to establish the National Agricultural Extension Service Center. In terms of seed industry management, seed functional departments were decentralized to administrative or public institutions. In October 1995, China Seed Company was renamed China Seed Group Co., Ltd. In February 1999, the State Council decided to transfer the entire China Seed Group Co., Ltd. to the State Economic and Trade Commission (now renamed the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission). The Ministry of Agriculture retained the original main seed management departments and functional departments, and added several new divisions in line with the development of the situation. The current seed functional departments include: the Seed Management Office, the Intellectual Property and Achievement Office, the Office for the Protection of Plant Variety Rights, the Office for the Safety Management of Agricultural Transgenic Biotechnology, the Gene Safety Management Office, the Gene Safety Testing Office, the Seed Industry Development Office, the Variety Management Office, the Technology Development Office (Center), the Seed Quality Supervision and Inspection Office, and the Office of the National Crop Variety Approval Committee, among others. These are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Crop Planting Management, the Department of Science and Education, the National Agricultural Extension Service Center, the Center for Science and Technology Development, and other departments, commissions, or dispatched institutions. Some divisions are externally referred to as public institutions but actually exercise administrative and functional management powers. In addition, there are several functional divisions related to seed industry management, such as the Seed Project, law enforcement and inspection, and price management, which are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Development Planning, the Department of Market and Economic Information, and the Department of Policies and Laws of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Industry insiders point out that the Ministry of Agriculture has set up so many seed functional departments, and some divisions are merely changes in name and position with no substantive change in basic functions. Although the government controls the affairs and positions of the seed industry, it lacks an authoritative institution that can represent a unified will, guide the national seed industry development, formulate laws and policies, conduct research, and implement macro-control. The ten or so business divisions cannot form a united front or speak with authority. They are limited in scope, handling their own businesses separately. When it comes to major issues affecting the overall development, direction, and decision-making of China's seed industry, no one dares to manage, no one is willing to manage, no one can manage, and no one can manage. This is inconsistent with the requirements of government function transformation after institutional reform.
Going deeper, the decentralized setup of seed functional departments is merely a temporary response to the government's institutional reform. On the surface, the seed industry reform has weakened the government's administrative management power, but the administrative power granted to industry supervisors under the planned economy has been basically preserved intact. The seed industry management system follows the operational model of the planned economy, such as variety approval, variety right protection approval, seed production license, seed quality inspection certificate, and seed business license. From variety approval to variety protection to seed business, it requires several administrative approval procedures, which are scattered and controlled by relevant agricultural departments, inevitably leading to policy interest and departmental interests.
A grassroots seed management department official said: The Ministry of Agriculture has set up various seed management divisions, and provincial and municipal governments must establish corresponding departments to handle them. At the city and county level, at least someone must be named to "take charge." Decentralization has led to departmental interests. Above, everyone pulls a string, the more institutions there are, the finer the division of labor, no matter which string is pulled, the grassroots must "mobilize a large force" to fully handle it, overwhelmed by trivial matters. It is particularly important to point out that the China Seed Association, which should play a vital "leading" role in China's seed industry reform and marketization process, should be a service and coordination organization with equal status to relevant authorities, capable of industry statistics, enterprise research, price coordination, product evaluation, trade negotiations, and quality identification. However, for a long time, it has not taken on its role and remains a subordinate of the government. Due to factors such as human resources, financial resources, and others, its industry service functions are severely lacking, and it has demonstrated too much helplessness, powerlessness, and despair in the marketization process of the seed industry.
Seeds are a crucial industry related to national economic and people's livelihood. The primary aspect is political significance. Seeds are important agricultural production materials and a lifeline for national food security, and further, they are related to social stability. The second aspect is technicality. The seed industry is a high-tech industry, involving breeding, propagation, processing, and other complex and meticulous processes, with long cycles and high investment. The third aspect is sensitivity. Any quality issues in seeds can lead to irreparable losses, affecting farmers' livelihoods and potentially impacting social stability.
Industry insiders suggest: Why can't the Ministry of Agriculture establish a Seed Administration Bureau (Department) with authority, resources, and status to become the "unified force" for administrative management of the national seed industry? Why can't the China Seed Association be pushed into the market to become the "leader" for coordinating and serving national seed enterprises? It must be acknowledged that since the 1990s, significant progress has been made in reshaping the diversified market entities of China's seed industry. However, the marketization process, which is decisive for the formation of a market economy system, has lagged behind. Administrative allocation remains excessive and fragmented. Power that should be delegated has not been delegated, and departments that should be strengthened have not been reinforced. The system is disordered, responsibilities are overlapping, and this has burdened the marketization process of China's seed industry, making it full of obstacles. P16-18