China -- the world's largest rice producer and consumer -- has
offered to share with the world its relatively-advanced
technologies of rice production, including its latest achievements
in decoding the rice genome, according to the Chinese Academy of
Engineering (CAE).
"China is willing to share all of its latest rice genome decoding
achievements and to discuss with international expertise on the
further utilization of the breakthroughs," said Xuan Zengpei,
deputy director of the international co-operation department under
the CAE.
On
April 4, Chinese scientists unveiled the first draft of the genome
sequence of indica, the most widely cultivated rice subspecies in
China and other Asian regions.
Shen Guofang, vice-president of the CAE, said Friday in Beijing
China will spare no efforts to promote the international exchange
of rice production technologies, especially to strengthen the
co-operation with developing countries in this field.
According to Shen, the CAE, along with some other government
departments and research institutions, is preparing for the first
ever "International Rice Congress,'' to be held in Beijing on
September 16-19, which will discuss the latest scientific
breakthroughs like the draft of the rice genome subsequence,
international rice trading and rice culture.
Song Jian, vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference and honorary chairman of the congress
organizing committee, said the unprecedented international
gathering of scientists, businesses and government leaders at the
congress will help "renew the efforts to improve the livelihoods of
the world's millions of poor, and generally deprived, rice
farmers.''
Rice experts from Japan and the United States will join domestic
scientists to discuss the function of the rice genome subsequence,
as well as genetically-modified rice products, according to Zhai
Huqu, president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
(CAAS) -- another organizer of the congress.
The Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute and the
State Development Planning Commission will also join the
organization of the congress, along with the CAAS and the CAE.
Rice feeds almost half of the planet (approximately 2.6 billion
people) daily and provides the core income of hundreds of millions
of poor rural households.
China boasts one-fifth of the world's total rice paddy fields, and
the country's unit yield of rice is 1.6 times larger than the
world's average level, according to CAE statistics.
(China Daily May 11, 2002)
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