Introduction
In the past few years, the world population has been growing magnificently and therefore making it a burden for the field of agriculture to feed the extra mouths. Agriculture is one of the main activities in many countries since it ensures food security and the well-being of a country's economy. Looking at China as an example, the primary agricultural practice for many years has been rice production which is practiced by many farmers, especially in the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan. In some years back, China started getting worried on ways of increasing rice production in the area due to high population growth and the market demand and that is what led to the introduction of hybrid rice. The hybridization of crops is a process that involves the activities of breeding crops intending to obtain an offspring that has superior characteristics to increase production. This paper generally looks at the introduction of GMO rice and hybrid rice in China as well as the situation of transgenic rice and hybrid rice in China. Additionally, the paper will also address and discuss whether they are the same products or not.
Introduction of GMO Rice and Hybrid Rice in China
The introduction of GMO rice and hybrid rice in China started in the 1970s and 1980s in the aim of increasing rice production in the country to feed the growing population. Starting with hybrid rice that was introduced in the early 1970s, the process involved the crossing of two inbreds which are genetically fixed. Hybrids are considered unique and super because of their unique characteristic of hybrid vigor. This was developed from the idea that the crossing process of two parents that are not related will lead to the production of an offspring that is super performing, especially in terms of production. While exploring the fields, some Chinese researchers were able to discover naturally growing male sterile rice among the ones considered to be wild rice or in scientific words ( Oryza sativa f. spontanea ). The wild rice contained a unique cytoplasm different from the customarily grown rice, and the Chinese scientist started crossing it with other rice varieties to see whether it could be passed to other generations (Huang et al., 2010). The process of cross-breeding was followed by numerous attempts until a stable plant was reached and was given the name CMS line or cytoplasmic male sterile". The seeds that were obtained from the plant are what are known as F1 seeds which cannot be reproduced and therefore requires farmers to purchase seeds for sowing every year. The F1 hybrid seeds are considered to be high yielding and farmers are advised not to reproduce them due to poor performance from the F2 seeds or second-generation (Huang et al., 2010).
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On the other hand, GMO rice in China begun in the 1980s where top China researchers started researching on genetically modified agriculture crops which led into the introduction of the golden rice. Considering the fact that China is the leading rice consumer and producer in the world, the development of GMO rice was not hard to initiate. However, genetically produced rice was not globally approved until 2009, when safety certificates were issued by China's Ministry of Agriculture (Tan, Zhan, & Chen, 2011). The introduction of GMO rice in China was highly influenced by the need of controlling and eliminating a pest known as the rice stem borer which is the common pest in China, and it was believed that GMOs were resistant to the pest. This comes from the fact that the proteins from the Bacillius thuringiensis bacteria (Bt rice) are very resistant to the pest hence making it a better option. As much as China was not the first one to approve the production and commercialization of GMO rice, it will be the first one to produce GM rice on a commercial scale globally (Tan, Zhan, & Chen, 2011). Just like, hybrid rice, GM rice is meant to increase rice production in China through reducing the risk of being destroyed by pests and hence increased yields.
The Situation of Transgenic Rice and Hybrid Rice in China
In the year 2009 on August, the ministry of agriculture of China approved two wide transgenic selections of rice and one of that of maize for commercial-scale production. The selected provinces for the plantation of the approved varieties include Hubei and Shandong which will grow them on large scales for commercial purposes. However, most people and in particular citizens of China are still expressing their concerns over the commercialization of these first transgenic food crops. Since then, numerous debates have been developing regarding the commercialization of the plants. However, not much information has been produced or made readily available to the general public in regard to the transgenic rice in China which is highly praised especially with respect to being pest resistant (Lu, 2010). The two transgenic rice varieties include the Bt Shanyou 63 and Huahui No. 1. Following a report that was produced by the Southern blot which went ahead to analyze the transgenic rice plants, they were able to discover that the Huahui No. 1 consisted of a single copy of the transgene which enabled it to be genetically constant throughout the tested generations. It is believed that transgenic rice has the full capabilities of reducing yield losses which are brought about by lepidopteran pests. This means that the overall rice loss of 2-10% of China's annual rice can be reduced or controlled by Bt rice by reducing the spread and production of fungi during storage. With these two varieties, Chinese farmers are not to be worried anymore about stem borers in their rice fields. Additionally, the two varieties were also approved as safe for consumption by NBC in their risk assessment report (Lu, 2010).
Impacts of GMO Rice and Hybrid Rice in China
The change as always expected had brought about different impacts and feelings in the agricultural process in China. For many years in the past, many farmers, for instance, in Yuanyang and Sichuan have experienced some changes in the usual ways of rice farming. First of all, they had many different varieties of traditional rice to choose from, which aligned with their ecology and cultures before the introduction of hybrid rice. They did not have to buy seeds annually since they could select the once they had harvested and exchange them with other neighbouring farmers. The government, on the other hand, has played a huge role in encouraging farmers to adapt to the hybrid rice which consists of seeds that cannot be saved for next planting season (Grain, 2007). This means that the farmers who chose hybrid rice were to get new seeds every year for planting from the seed dealers. According to many farmers, the hybrid rice brought in an added financial cost and made the rice to lose its old social as well as a cultural value. The farmers also added that the rice was poorly fitting into the local ecology. The change also brought about added the cost of chemical pesticides together with chemical fertilizers to reach the high yields that they were promised. However, for farmers who have successfully switched to the hybrid rice, they can reach the high yields, although on several restricted production factors. According to a research conducted by Grain (2007), the farmers complained that the hybrid rice is too much dependent on chemicals and that they seem to attract pests and diseases when compared to the traditionally grown rice (Grain, 2007).
Comparison between the GMO Rice and Hybrid Rice in China
The difference between the two is that GMO rice has been genetically engineered through the process of biofortification in the aim of increasing the nutritional value in crops as well as makes them more tolerant to pest and diseases. In other words, they are known as biofortified crops which are going through a modification to help the plant produce beta carotene, which is not provided by rice normally. When the rice is consumed by humans, the beta carotene is easily converted into vitamin A which is vital to the well-being of human beings. Hybrid rice, on the other hand, involves the process of cross-breeding of two parents that are not related to having a super product that is considered hybrid vigour or heterosis. These rice seed obtained from the cross-breed parents is considered to be more productive hence showing more yields than normal. With that as the major difference between the two they are similar in the nature that they are both disease resistance and high yielding, thus introduced for high production of rice in China (Li, Xin, & Yuan, 2009).
Conclusion
Without any doubt, population growth is an issue in any developed and developing country, and therefore, agriculture should be at the frontline to ensure food security at the highest level. As seen in China, efforts to improve food production, especially in the sector of rice production have been ongoing since the 1970s, and the results are evident. Starting with Bt, the potential of increasing production is very high since there is a decrease in pesticide applications. Additionally, GMO rice and hybrid rice are also good choices to make sure that rice production in China is at its highest peak, which will ensure economic stability and food security. However, Chinese researchers, together with the government and in particular, the ministry of agriculture should work together on researching the best and environmentally friendly pesticides that will boost the Chinese agricultural practices.
References
Grain. (2007). Hybrid rice in China- A great yield forward? Retrieved from https://www.grain.org/article/entries/581-hybrid-rice-in-china-a-great-yield-forward
Huang, J., Hu, R., Rozelle, S., & Pray, C. (2010). Genetically modified rice, yields and pesticides: Assessing farm-level productivity and health effects in China. Economic Development and Cultural Change 56(2), 241-263 .
Li, J., Xin, Y., & Yuan, L. (2009). Hybrid rice technology development: ensuring China's food security. IFPRI Discussion Paper 00918 . Retrieved from http://cdm15738.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/23379/filename/23380.pdf
Lu, C. (2010). The first approved transgenic rice in China. GM crops, 1 (3), 113-115.
Tan, T., Zhan, J., & Chen, C. (2011). The impact of commercialization of GM rice in China. American–Eurasian Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, 10, 296-299.
