Farming official held over wife's banned seed

An agricultural official from Henan province has been detained for abuse of power after he promoted a banned seed managed by his wife, Dahe Daily reported Thursday.

Procurators said an investigation uncovered Liu Huihe, deputy chief of the Department of Agriculture in Fangxian county of Nanyang city, promoted a wheat seed Xinmai 26 which had already been vetoed as disastrous for the area's soil.

The official’s wife is the manager of the state-owned grain company.

In September 2012, Liu issued a notice under the name of the county's agriculture department requesting all farmers to use the seed despite the fact that Nanyang city had cut Xinmai 26 from a list of 15 types of seeds good for the city's farmlands.

Liu even offered a 10-yuan subsidy for the seed as part of a promotion.

The wheat yield from 14 towns and villages in Fangxian county in 2013 is expected to drop by 91 million kilograms to 357 million from last year's 448 million.