b'CHINAS IN A RACE FORBETTER-PERFORMING SEEDIn a neck-and-neck battle with the rest of the world, Chinas seed companies are investing in technology like never before.Sonja BegemannWITH NEARLY 1.4 BILLION mouths to feed and an ever- said Andrea Durkin, founding of Sparkplug LLC, in the expanding middle and upper-middle class, China issame NPF webinar. sprinting to grow domestic ag production. Growers andTheyre looking to consolidate and buy assets from producers in the country are seeking more efficientinternational consolidation.weight gain in livestock and higher yielding grain crops. Theres evidence of this action already. In February As more of the population rises above the poverty2016, State-owned ChemChina bought Swiss-owned level, livestock production and therefore feed grain pro- Syngenta for $43 billion. With this acquisition came the duction needs to rise to meet demand. hope the companys long-established research capabili-[Some of Chinas] demand has increased because ofties and processes would slingshot the new owners into the rebound in the hog population, said Joseph Glauber,Chinas seed game in a big way.senior research fellow at the International Food PolicyFive years later, ChemChina and Chinese farmers have Research Institute in a recent webinar by the U.S. Nationalyet to realize the full potential of the Syngenta acquisition.Press Foundation (NPF). Its not realistic to think that ChemChina can just All said, China and agricultural companies in thesimply flip an innovation switch after buying Syngenta, country need better, higher yielding crop varieties faster.said Garrett Stoerger, partner at Illinois-based Verdant More grain means more livestock feed and that meansPartners, a transaction broker. Theres a whole lot more more citizens have full bellies. And in many ways,to farm-level technology adoption than simply buying the increasing production comes down to one input: seed. company and gaining access to their technology or all research capability. I think with time theyll get there, but Investment in Acquisitions I think at this moment it would be difficult to claim that Its not just private companies investing in better seed Syngentas value has been maximized in China. I think its the Chinese government has expressed a vested interestvery, very far from that.in creating a better seed supply to bolster food security. While some surmise theres potential for more growth Seeds are the source of agricultural production, andand value maximization, Syngenta Group reported the China has made significant progress in developing itsfirst half of 2021 earnings up 24% year-over-year at $14.4 seed industry in recent years, said Chinese Vice Premierbillion.Hu Chunhua on Aug. 27, 2021, to Xinhua Official News.We are focused on developing and launching prod-He also noted that the development of the foundation ofucts and services that enable farmers to grow good the seed industry isnt solid and is an urgent focus. crops despite drought, heat, flooding, and high wind or The country and its officials seek to accelerate theother weather extremes, said Syngenta Group CEO Erik creation and cultivation of key crops for better produc- Fyrwald in the Q2 earnings press release. Our results tion overall. Theyre also looking to nurture a batch ofdemonstrate that we are meeting the needs of local grow-modern, competitive seed companies to increase theers not only with our sustainable products, but also with supply of improved seed varieties, Chunhua added. our digitally enabled services.China doesnt want to rely on foreign GM seedthatPests in China are different than in the U.S., so more would be a big change to look for [going into the future],customized varieties are needed. Therefore, advancing 10GERMINATION.CAJANUARY 2022'