Agricultural Biotechnology in China: Origins and Prospects PDF
Preview Agricultural Biotechnology in China: Origins and Prospects
Agricultural Biotechnology in China · Valerie J. Karplus Xing Wang Deng Agricultural Biotechnology in China Origins and Prospects Foreword by Norman E. Borlaug ValerieJ.Karplus XingWangDeng TechnologyandPolicyProgram DepartmentofMolecular,Cellular,and MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology DevelopmentalBiology 77MassachusettsAve. YaleUniversity,P.O.Box208104 BuildingE40-371 165ProspectSt.,OML352A Cambridge,MA02139 NewHaven,CT06520-8104 [email protected] [email protected] ISBN:978-0-387-71138-6 e-ISBN:978-0-387-71139-3 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2007933078 (cid:2)c 2008SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC Allrightsreserved.Thisworkmaynotbetranslatedorcopiedinwholeorinpartwithoutthewritten permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA),except forbrief excerpts inconnection with reviews orscholarly analysis. Usein connectionwithanyformofinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware, orbysimilarordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdevelopedisforbidden. Theuseinthispublicationoftradenames,trademarks,servicemarksandsimilarterms,eveniftheyare notidentifiedassuch,isnottobetakenasanexpressionofopinionastowhetherornottheyaresubject toproprietaryrights. Coverillustration:RurallandscapenearGuanpingVillageincentralChina’sHunanprovince. Printedonacid-freepaper. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 springer.com For Guanping Village Note on Chinese Names Throughoutthetext,wespellChinesenamesusingthepinyinromanizationsystem insteadoftheoriginalChinesecharacters.UsingthemainlandChineseconvention, we write the last name followed by first name, as in Deng Xiaoping. We make exceptionsfor scientists that are widely known outside of China by their Chinese or American first name followed by last name, for example, Dr. Ray Wu. In the WorksCited,sourcesarelistedaccordingtotheformatusedintheoriginalcitation, usuallybytheauthor’slastname. Scope of Work ThisbookislimitedinscopetodevelopmentsthatoccurredinmainlandChina,and mostly those occurringfrom 1949to the present. Throughoutthe text, we use the name“China”torefertothemainlandonly. Foreword China’sstrongeconomicdevelopmentofrecentdecadesisbuiltuponitssuccesses inagricultureresearchanddevelopmentoverthepast50years.Fromthemid-1950s to the early 1970s, internal campaignsand upheavaldwarfed the achievementsof manydedicatedChinesescientists.However,bythelate1970stheresultsofmodern agriculturalresearch really began to bear fruit. For the next 20 years, agricultural policies encouragedgreater initiative, innovation,investment, efficiency,and risk- taking—alltothebenefitofChineseagriculture.Rapidexpansionintheuseofhigh- yielding modern varieties and chemical fertilizers, improved water management, and more effective weed, disease, and insect controlpractices all occurredduring thisperiod. Since the mid-1990s,however,China’s agriculturalprogresshas slowed. Rural wagesarenowlaggingsignificantlybehindthoseinthecities.Rural-to-urbanmigra- tionisaccelerating,andwilllikelyinvolveover200millionpeopleby2020.Man- aging this demographicchange and keeping the agricultural economy and farmer incomesexpandingarehugesocialandtechnologicalchallengesthatstandtoaffect Chineseandworldhistory. China’s population is projected to grow to 1.6 billion by 2050. A larger and wealthierpopulationislikelytodoublefood,feed,andfiberdemandbymid-century, while the arable land area is likely to fall by 20 percent, if not more because of urbanization,landdegradationandwatershortages. Newagriculturalscienceandtechnology—withgreaternationalcoordinationof provincial and regional research organizations—will be critical to meeting these challenges.Far-reachingpolicychangeswillalsobeneededinagriculturaltaxpol- icy,landtenure,andfarmereducation. KarplusandDengprovidean excellentaccountof howrecentdevelopmentsin agriculturalbiotechnologyinChinamaybethenextbigstepinalongtraditionof agriculturaladvances.Icommendthemforthisoutstandingpieceofscholarship. Dr.NormanE.Borlaug NobelPeacePrizeLaureate ix Preface ThepathtoGuanping,aremotemountainvillageincentralChina’sHunanprovince, invitesitstravelersbackintime.Overhillsandvalleystheelusivedirttrackwinds almost beyondthe reach of China’s whirlwind economicdevelopment,arrivingat clustersofwoodencottagesthathousearoundonehundredpeople.Thesurrounding terracedhillsides, reminiscentofimagesin ancientbrushpaintings,overflowwith the year’s rice crop. One of the co-authors of this book, Xing Wang Deng, was born in this village, and as a boy followed the same path for miles to attend the closestelementaryandmiddleschools.Wefollowedwell-wornfootprintsonavisit to China’srice farmingregionsin the summerof2005,tracinga path thathasled ultimatelytotheauthorshipofthisbook. A closer look around Guanping revealed that even in its relative isolation, life inthistypicalriceplantingvillagewaschangingrapidly.Thefiguresthatemerged to greet us were either the very old or the very young. Most of the young adult populationhadleftforhigherpayingjobsintownsandcities,joiningChina’sgrow- ing migrant population. Rice paddies were sown with elite high-yielding hybrid varieties developed by leading breeders in the provincial capital. Grafted onto an otherwiseisolatedrurallandscapeweresatellitedishes,asmalldamnearbytosup- ply electricity seasonally, fashion magazines, and bottles of carbonated soda, all signsofincreasinglinkagestotheoutsideworld. Thisbriefglimpseof ruralChina masksdeeperchallengesfacingthe country’s farmers. Since its earliest days, agriculture has been inherentlydemandingon the environment.OnlyamodestfractionofChina’slandisarable,andincreasingland productivityhasbeenpartofthequestforsurvivaloverthousandsofyears.Today, asChina’spopulationsurpasses1.3billionanddietschangetoreflectgrowingpros- perity, this quest has never been more important. Especially over the last century, effortsto increase agriculturalyields have taken a severe toll on the environment. Rising applications of pesticides, fertilizer, and irrigation have left soils polluted, salty,anddepletedofnutrients,whilestraininglimitedwaterandenergyresources. ThecreeksnearGuanpingvillagearealmostsilentandlifeless,lackingthefishand shrimp that were once abundant. High value fertile land is being lost to nonagri- culturaluses,suchascommercialdevelopment.ThesetrendscastdoubtonChina’s abilitytoprovideanadequate,safe,andenvironmentallysustainablefoodsupplyto futuregenerations. xi xii Preface AtypicalruralhouseholdinGuanpingVillage.Photobyauthors. As part of efforts to address these challenges, China’s leaders are redoubling investmentinscienceandtechnologyprograms.Thisemphasisonscienceandtech- nologyinChinahasdeephistoricalroots.Forthousandsofyears,leadersandfarm- ers have relied on incremental advances in science and technology to overcome challenges facing the agricultural sector. The introduction of high-yielding crop varieties and associated inputs in the 1960s and 1970s increased land productiv- ity and helpedChina to maintainfoodself-sufficiencythroughthe early1990s.In part due to the growing population and mounting environmental toll, the search is now on for new solutions. Agricultural biotechnology is one option that has emergedatthecrossroadsofthecountry’shightechnologyandagriculturaldevelop- mentagendas.Wewrotethisbooktoexplorehowsupportforagriculturalbiotech- nology has become a dominant theme in China’s agricultural research efforts, and how its development might affect the future of the country’s agriculture and foodsupply. China’s rapid advances in the developmentof transgenic crops, which contain yield-enhancing or other useful traits transferred in by a set of molecular tech- niques, have drawnthe most widespreadattention.Severalyearsago, in the wake offoodsafetyscaresandwidespreaduncertainty,transgenictechnologywaswidely shunned,particularlyinpartsofEuropeandindustrializedEastAsia.Fewobservers realizedthatmorethanfiveyearsbeforetheconflicterupted,virus-resistanttrans- genic tobacco was being planted commercially in China. Although the transgenic tobaccohassincebeenwithdrawnfromthemarket,researchonawidearrayofother crops is now underway.Meanwhile, the widespread application of non-transgenic Preface xiii techniquesaimedatsolvingsomeofthecountry’smostpersistentagriculturalchal- lengeshaslargelyescapedpublicnotice.Whilesomestoriesofagriculturalbiotech- nologyinChinahavedominatedheadlinesandothershavenot,wewrotethisbook to provide a more comprehensivepicture of recent developmentsfor citizens and policymakers,bothinChinaandaroundtheworld. We hopethisbookwillfindan eageraudiencein universitystudentsbeginning their careers in an age of rapid transformation,as well as policy practitionersand thecuriouspublicinChina andabroad.Thenumberofopportunitiesavailablefor biologistsandbiotechnologistsinChinaisgrowingatanunprecedentedpace.These individualswillshapethefutureofthefieldinChinaanditsinternationalreputation. China’sagriculturalbiotechnologyprogramshavebeencraftedwithaneyetoestab- lishingthecountryasamajorcontributorininternationalscientificcircles,boosting economiccompetitivenessin world markets, and modernizingits agriculturalsec- tor.Achievingthesegoalswilldependonwhetherornottheresearchenterpriseand commercializationchannelsareeffectivelymanaged.Thisbookexplorestheseman- agementchallenges,andoffersseveralguidinginsightsforthefutureofagricultural biotechnologyinChina. The completion of this book owes much to the efforts of our reviewers, col- leagues, family, and friends. First, we would like to thank Carl E. Pray, Huang Jikun,Scott Rozelle and othersaffiliated with the Chinese Center forAgricultural Policy in Beijing. As leading researchers on the economic aspects of agricultural biotechnology in China, they have provided us with anecdotes and access to the center’s data and manuscripts,which have proveninvaluablein the completionof this work. We also extend our gratitude to the directors, staff, and students of the NationalInstitute of Biological Sciences, Beijing for their supportfor this project from2005to2006.WealsothankZhuangQiaosheng,FanYunliu,JiaShirong,Lin Min,andGuoSanduiattheChineseAcademyofAgriculturalSciences,andZhang Qifa at the Huazhong Agriculture University, for tours, interviews, and reports of their work. We thank Chen Zhangliang and his colleagues at China Agricultural Universityforpersonalstories,connectionstoscientists,andphotographsthathave proven essential to understandingthe early years of agricultural biotechnologyin China. Thanks also to Li Xiaoyun, Xiang Ying, and the College of Humanities andDevelopmentatChinaAgriculturalUniversityfortheirhelpinorganizingfield studies in China’s Henan and Hebei provinces in 2002. We are further grateful to Dr. Ray Wu at Cornell University and representatives of the China National Center for Biotechnology Development for their insights into early government support for China’s biotechnology programs. We also appreciate the input of industryrepresentativesandthestaffattheAgriculturalAffairsOfficeattheUnited States Embassy in Beijing. We thank Gary Toenniessen and Deborah Delmer at the Rockefeller Foundation for sharing the history of the foundation’s support for biotechnology, particularly its applications to rice. Graduate students Chen Haodong and Liu Jianing rendered invaluable help with translation and research. Valerie extends a special thanks to the Henry R. Luce Foundation for supporting herworkinChinafrom2002to2003. Finally, we would like to thank those who assisted in the review, editing and preparation of this manuscript. We thank Huang Jikun, Rob Paarlberg, Carl E. xiv Preface Pray,andGaryToenniessenforvaluablefeedbackonitsconceptandcontent.Our gratitudealso belongsto MarianneS. Karplus,Susan S. Karplus,David L. Rager, and William R. Shermanfor theirencouragementand willingnessto editdraftsin thefinalstages.ValerieextendsheartfeltthankstoPaulL.H.Cook,MoiraHeiges, PaulT.Karplus,ShanLiu,NicolasOsouf,JeanD.Sherman,JenniferShuford,and DavidG.Victorfortheirsupportthroughoutthewritingprocess. We sincerely hope that you will enjoy reading a tale of how old and new have shaped the emergence of agricultural biotechnology in China. Though we cannot predictitsoutcome,wehopethefollowingpageswillilluminatethewayforward. ValerieJ.KarplusandXingWangDeng
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