Origin Agritech Ltd. opened a biotechnology research center in Kaiyang County, Guizhou Province, marking a RMB 10 million investment in a 8,000 square meter facility.
The Southwest R&D Center includes a 4,000 sqm experimental zone, a 600 sqm molecular testing platform, and a 2,000 sqm tissue culture platform. Four intelligent glass greenhouses cover over 15,000 sqm, while standardized field trial land spans roughly 160 mu.
The center will focus on molecular design breeding, germplasm resource innovation, and virus-free sweet potato seedling development, according to the company. Operational capabilities include genetic transformation across 11 crops and a doubled haploid breeding platform with annual capacity of 100,000 DH lines.
Origin Agritech also established Guizhou Origin Biotechnology Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary, as part of the initiative. The company concurrently formed a joint venture with Guizhou Modern Seed Industry Group Co., Ltd., a state-owned enterprise under Guiyang Agricultural Investment Group. The venture, Guiyang Agricultural Investment Origin Modern Seed Industry Co., Ltd., has a total investment of RMB 40 million, with Origin holding a 25% equity stake.
The joint venture will concentrate on corn seed research, production, processing, and sales, developing varieties adapted to mountainous terrain. It operates a distribution network of over 300 dealers covering townships across Guizhou.
This year, the venture has deployed more than 10,000 corn germplasm accessions and new combinations for field identification across Southwest China, with several combinations entering provincial regional trials.
