Zhuhai invests millions in seed industry incubator

Characteristic Lingnan (Cantonese) vegetables and Taiwan specialty crops will be bred, promoted, and preserved in a 61.8-million-yuan ($9.8-million) first-phase support facility of Guangdong (Zhuhai) Modern Seed Industry Development Center.

This project was recently approved by the Zhuhai Development & Reform Commission, and the funding of it was budgeted by the city government.

Part of Zhuhai Taiwan Farmers Venture Park Phase II in Jinwan District's Pingsha Town, the center will incubate regional and nationwide hi-tech enterprises in the seed industry. It will also propel development of the park.

Social benefits are listed as promotion of modern farming technologies, solving problems related to rural areas and farmers, increasing income for villagers, and invigoration of the town, according to a district official.

Zhuhai Taiwan Farmers Venture Park [File photo] 

The project calls for renovation, greening and landscaping of rural roads, a 4,000-sq-m (1-acre) modern fish-breeding base, and 5,400-sq-m (1.3-acre) butterfly orchid greenhouse. Also to be constructed is a good-seeds planting techniques base, which is to have a 6,528-sq-m (1.6-acre) greenhouse for breeding and seedling nurseries.  

In order to strengthen security, the venture park will be equipped with video surveillance, digital audio broadcasting, parking lot management, Wi-Fi, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) patrol systems. Monitoring rooms and outdoor tubular wells are also planned.

Zhuhai Taiwan Farmers Venture Park is the first of its kind in Guangdong. It was established in 2008 upon approval from the Ministry of Agriculture and Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. It has become an investment hotspot in the Pearl River Delta for Taiwanese farmers and agricultural enterprises.