HNU institute to push forward seed science and technology

The Sanya Nanfan (Off-season Crop Breeding) Research Institute of Hainan University is expected to become a new engine for the advancement of seed science and technology over the next three to five years, using a team of world-class talents.

A cooperation agreement was signed between the Sanya government and HNU for the joint construction of the research institute on Jan 21. The university will bring its tropical agriculture and forestry scientific research and personnel resources to the facility, with the support of the Sanya government in areas like policies and capital.

Sanya is a "natural greenhouse" due to its special climate. Statistics show that more than 5,000 experts from 26 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions convene in the city for off season-breeding research every September to the following May.

The HNU research institute is envisioned as a national off season-breeding scientific and technological research center, a tropical agricultural talent cultivation base, a tropical agricultural high-tech enterprise incubation center and a high-level academic exchange center for tropical agriculture and forestry.

Luo Jie, dean of HNU College of Tropical Crops. [Photo by Li Xueshi/Sanya Daily]

It is committed to providing one-stop services and one-package solutions for experts, boosting highly-efficient agricultural development, and guaranteeing national seed and grain safety, said Luo Jie, dean of HNU College of Tropical Crops.

The Sanya Nanfan Seed Industry Science and Technology Mass Innovation Center, which occupies 15,853 square meters of Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City, will host the research institute and HNU's State Key Laboratory of Tropical Crops.

The project is now going through its indoor furnishing phase, with the experiment building to be finished later this month. The first batch of equipment, worth 120 million yuan ($18.47 million), will be installed in April, along with the settlement of some teachers and postgraduate students. Three hundred postgraduate students will study and conduct scientific research from September.

Sanya Nanfan Seed Industry Science and Technology Mass Innovation Center. [Photo by Li Xueshi/Sanya Daily]