The 2023 China Seed Conference and Nanfan Agricultural Silicon Valley Forum were held recently in Sanya, Hainan Province. Wu Weihua, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhang Xingwang, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), Wang Shumei, Permanent Member (vice-ministerial level) of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and Presiding Justice of the Third Circuit Court of SPC, and Wu Zhaohui, Vice Minister of Science and Technology, attended the opening ceremony and delivered remarks. 

The conference focused on the new tasks and requirements of ensuring the stable and safe supply of grain and major agricultural products, and discussed issues such as accelerating the development of a modern seed industry, and developing Nanfan Agricultural Silicon Valley and the free trade port seed industry. It fully showcased the firm determination and practical actions of the seed industry and other relevant parties to thoroughly reinvigorate the seed industry. It also helped build a broad consensus about and confidence in enhancing China’s agricultural strength, reinforcing the foundations for food security on all fronts, and achieving self-reliance in seed technologies and resources. 

The conference was composed of one main forum and 13 subforums, as well as an exhibition of seed industry achievements, and field demonstration of new varieties. A number of papers were released during the conference, including the Typical Cases Handled by People’s Courts Regarding Judicial Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in the Seed Industry (Third Group), and the Ten Major Events in China’s Seed Industry 2022.  

The conference was directed by SPC, MARA, the Central Committee of the Jiusan Society, the China Association for Science and Technology, the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government, and the Hainan Provincial People’s Government. It was co-organized by the China Seed Association, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Hainan Province, the People’s Government of Sanya, Hainan Nongken Investment Holding Group, and the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences. More than 3,000 people participated in the conference.