Taiwan's organic seed and seedling farm plans a production base of 30 hectares, and organic corn and soybean seeds will be put on the market.

The area of organic cultivation in China has increased year by year, reaching more than 8900 hectares in April this year. Organic agriculture adopts organic management in the field, but whether the seedlings or seeds are organic or not is a long-term pain point. The seed and seedling improvement breeding farm of the Council of Agriculture has begun to plan a 30-hectare organic seedling production base, and it is expected that the first batch of organic certified hard corn and soybean seeds will be produced within three years.

The seed and seedling improvement breeding farm of the Council of Agriculture said that it is clearly stipulated in the measures for the Verification and Management of Organic Agricultural products and Organic processed products that organic agricultural products should give priority to the use of organic seedlings. Although there is a complete seedling production system in China, however, because the input cost of seedlings that meet the conditions of organic management is high, such as pest control materials, a systematic cultivation model has not been developed for a long time. Farmers can only import organic seedlings from Europe and other places, or still use non-organically managed seedlings for planting. Because the seedling farm has the advantages of variety selection technology and existing facilities, it is necessary to invest resources to complete the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle of organic planting.

Zhong Wenquan, deputy director of the seed and seedling farm, further explained that the seedling farm is planning a 30-hectare experimental field area for the use of organic seed production bases, starting with hard corn for livestock feed and soybeans with a larger area of miscellaneous planting in China. The seed source, soil and water source will be controlled during cultivation. First of all, genetically modified seeds with pathogens will be excluded, and varieties that are resistant to disease and grow faster than weeds will be selected for breeding. Soil and water sources will also analyze the composition to ensure that there is no pollution of heavy metals and diseases. After the seedlings are produced, they will also be certified as organic seedlings by third-party inspection units. It is expected that the first batch of hard corn and soybean seeds that meet the organic certification will be produced within three years.

Zhong Wen Quan added that because the seedling farm has been the dedicated unit of domestic policy seedlings for many years, the original breeding greenhouse set up by the prevention and inspection bureau to verify the original breeding of healthy seedlings can also help ensure the disease safety of organic seedlings in the future.