Seeds are the foundation of agriculture and the lifeblood of the country. Without good seeds, there will be no good agriculture, and there will be no good food. However, seeds, a seemingly insignificant thing, are the strategy of Western agricultural giants, who use low-price, high-quality, and high-yield seeds to enter the global market, and then monopolize the seed industry step by step to control food security. This practice has not only caused great harm to developing countries, but even a large agricultural country like Russia is difficult to resist.
Russian agriculture has a glorious history and a painful experience. From the great grain exporters of the Tsarist era, to the agricultural decay of the Soviet era, to the collapse of agriculture under the Yeltsin era, Russian agriculture has been on a downward slope. It was not until Putin came to power that Russia began to pay attention to agriculture, adopted a series of measures to support agricultural development, restored food self-sufficiency, and even became the world's largest wheat exporter. However, there is another fatal weakness of Russian agriculture, and that is seeds.
Most of Russia's seeds are imported from the West, especially the seeds of cash crops such as corn, rapeseed, and sugar beet, which are almost all monopolized by Western companies. These seeds, not only are the most high, but also have patent protection, and Russian farmers cannot keep their own seeds, they can only buy new seeds every year.
This has put Russia's agriculture in a passive situation and may be sanctioned by the West at any time. Germany's Bayer tried to ban the export of seeds to Russia, but fortunately abandoned the plan, otherwise Russian agriculture would have suffered a heavy blow.
Why do Russian seeds lag behind the West? It all starts with the Soviet era. Agriculture in the USSR has always been the soft underbelly of the USSR, and the leaders of the USSR have always been not interested in agriculture. The agriculture of the Soviet Union mainly relied on the legacy of the Tsarist era, which was once the leader of Europe, and the grain of Tsarist Russia occupied nearly half of the international market. Tsarist Russia's military spending was also obtained by selling grain.
However, Tsarist Russia's agriculture also has a fatal flaw, that is, there is no scientific and technological innovation. The agriculture of Tsarist Russia mainly relied on the vastness of the land, not on the quality of the seeds. The seeds of Tsarist Russia have not been systematically bred, have not adapted to different climates and soils, have not improved their ability to resist diseases and insects, and have not increased their yield and quality. The seeds of Tsarist Russia are just ordinary local varieties, and they are not very competitive.
By the time of the USSR, this flaw was exposed. The agriculture of the USSR has been using Tsarist seeds, no new breeding, no introduction of foreign seeds, no development of transgenic technology. Agriculture in the USSR, like an old man, had no vitality, no innovation, no progress. Agriculture in the Soviet Union was a dead land, and it was useless for anyone to take care of it, and there was no future for anyone to take care of it. Agriculture in the Soviet Union is the weakness of the giant of the Soviet Union, and it is the fatal wound of the Soviet Union.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's agriculture plummeted. Yeltsin's privatization policy made Russia's agriculture lose the support of the state, the protection of the market, and the space for survival. Russian agriculture, overwhelmed by Western agricultural products. Russian agriculture, by seeds from the West, is occupied. Russian agriculture, monopolized by the West, is controlled.
Russian agriculture, in order to get rid of the control of the West, must have its own seeds. Seeds are the foundation of agriculture, the future of agriculture, and the hope of agriculture. Seeds are the "chips" of the food industry, the strategic resources of the country, and the security guarantee of the country. Without our own seeds, we would not have our own agriculture, we would not have our own food, and we would not have our own destiny.
After Putin came to power, Russia realized this and began to pay attention to the localization of seeds, began to pay attention to the breeding of seeds, and began to pay attention to the innovation of seeds. Russia has drawn up a plan for the development of seeds, put forward the goal of self-sufficiency in seeds, and put forward a plan for the transgenic of seeds. Russia hopes that by 2027, 30 genetically modified seeds will be cultivated, and 75% of the seeds of important crops will be produced domestically. Russia wants to use its own seeds, build its own agriculture, secure its own food, and control its own destiny.
The localization of seeds is an inevitable choice for Russian agriculture, and it is also a difficult challenge for Russian agriculture. The localization of seeds requires the support of science and technology, the accumulation of time, the investment of funds, the guidance of policies, the feedback of the market, and the recognition of farmers. The localization of seeds is not an overnight thing, nor is it a one-time thing, but a long-term, continuous, and continuous thing. The localization of seeds is the remedy for the loss of Russian agriculture and the road to the rebirth of Russian agriculture.
Genetically modified technology is an important means of seed localization, and it is also the focus of controversy over seed localization. Genetically modified technology can change the genes of plants so that they have better characteristics, such as drought resistance, disease resistance, insect resistance, yield increase, quality increase, etc. Genetically modified technology can make seeds adapt to different environments, make seeds more competitive, and make seeds have greater development potential. Genetically modified technology is the innovation of seeds, the progress of seeds, and the future of seeds.
However, there are many risks and problems in GMO technology, such as GMO safety, GMO patents, GMO labeling, GMO supervision, etc. Genetically modified technology may affect the ecological balance, may cause genetic contamination, may threaten biodiversity, and may harm human health. Genetically modified technology may also be used by Western companies to continue to control the seed market and continue to exploit seed consumers through patent rights and technical barriers. Genetically modified technology is the challenge of seeds, the controversy of seeds, and the dilemma of seeds.
Russia has always been cautious about genetically modified technology, neither completely rejecting nor blindly accepting it. Russia has strict laws and regulations on genetically modified technology, requiring all genetically modified products to undergo strict safety assessment and labeling, requiring all genetically modified seeds to undergo strict approval and registration, and requiring all genetically modified research to undergo strict supervision and management.
Russia has its own judgment and choice of genetically modified technology, and it neither blindly follows nor lags behind the West. Russia has its own path and goals for genetically modified technology, which is to ensure the safety of seeds and improve the level of seeds.