February 22, 2012

Chinese academy's hybrid wheat to grow in Pakistan

Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences have created two hybrid wheat varieties, Beijing Wheat No.6 and No.7, which had successfully grown in Pakistan's pilot areas and are expected to boost local wheat output by 50%.

According to an intergovernmental agreement, Pakistan may start importing and growing the two wheat varieties on a large scale next month.

In fact, Beijing's hybrid wheat was identified by the municipal government as internationally competitive products several years ago, but had not got a chance to be put into commercial use until recently.

The Beijing National Modern Agricultural Science and Technology City, whose construction started in 2010, has conducted bold, innovative seed research with full support of China's Ministry of Science and Technology and Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission.

It has actively promoted the cooperation between research institutions and seed companies through the establishment of a breeding platform, an industry association, and an innovative mechanism for research project management, in hopes of building a complete innovation-driven industry chain.

At present, Beijing's seed technology transactions are growing rapidly. The city has sold 51 seed technologies for RMB190 million (US$30.16 million) since the launch of the Beijing National Modern Agricultural Science and Technology City, up 250% from the last cycle.