The legendary journey of the seeds

"In the old days it was a hassle to travel from Hunan to Hainan province. You have to take a train from Changsha to Zhanjiang, Guangdong province first, then take a boat to Haikou, the capital of Hainan; from there you have to travel by car to reach Sanya, and then take a tractor to get to the farm. It took a week for the entire journey," says Chen Qiuxiang, an expert at the Sanya Maize Breeding Experimental Base of the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center.

All the details are fresh in her memory. In 1975, she followed academician Yuan Longping to the base for breeding. She spent 46 years in the field, and she had never celebrated Spring Festival back at home. Although she is 66 years old, she still chooses to stay in the base to contribute her wisdom and strength. Decades of hard work by scientific researchers have not only created China's agricultural innovation, but also played a pivotal role in promoting the country's food security.

At present, there are 48 institutions in Hunan province that carry out the maize breeding work all year round, with about 500 permanent scientific research and production personnel, and more than 1,500 staff at the peak.

The scientific research breeding area of rice, pepper, corn, ramie, etc is about 223 hectares, and the annual seed production area is 3,333 to 8,000 hectares. It provides Hunan province with more than 7.5 million kilograms of emergency seeds, ensuring the safety of grain use for the province.