Imported strains diversify China\'s crop

An international agricultural organization has provided China with nearly 50,000 wheat, corn, potato, and rice strains, greatly boosting crop diversity in China. These have made up one-eighth of the country\'s crop gene strains thanks to the assistance from the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), China\'s largest international partner in agricultural research and development, according to data released by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). With the imported strains, China has developed 252 new crop species. Li Jiayang, president of CAAS and vice minister of agriculture, said that since China joined the CGIAR in 1984, the two sides have made fruitful achievements in research, exchanges and high-level decision making. CAAS and CGIAR signed a declaration Friday pledging to step up cooperation in cultivating new species, developing biological technology and protecting natural resources.