American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Chairman Blake Curtis calls the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the US and China seed organizations Monday “monumental.”
“Everything has to start somewhere and this is a great start,” said Blake, with Curtis and Curtis Seed Company of New Mexico. “China is a very aggressive force in our world today and we’re excited about the things they’ll be able to develop using the ideas we bring to the table.”
Listen to interview with Blake here: ASTA Chairman Blake Curtis
Zhang Shihuang with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences says the MOU means new opportunities for his country. “Most of the seed companies in China are very young compared with American seed industry,” he said. “Next year we want to send groups of young scientists to visit American seed companies and we can also send young managers of companies to be trained in America.”
Zhang also notes that seed companies in China are very small so they are very excited about working with the smaller U.S. seed companies, in addition to the powerhouses like Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer. “We want to invite American seed companies to go to China and invest in joint ventures,” he said.
Listen to interview with Zhang here: Zhang Shihuang of China