“Innovation is the core of seed industry revitalisation,” said Liu Lihua, director of MARA’s Seed Industry Management Department and director of the Plant Variety Protection Office. Speaking at a press conference, she said: “Strengthening intellectual property protection in the seed industry is the greatest incentive for breeding innovation and a powerful guarantee for accelerating the revitalisation of the seed industry.” “This marks the official implementation of China’s agricultural plant EDV system, an important institutional innovation in the field of seed industry intellectual property and a landmark achievement in the revitalisation of the seed industry.” Weeding out the copycatsThe policy aims to address a longstanding challenge in plant breeding – copycats. Those breeding entities that truly possess original innovation capabilities will gain greater market space and institutional benefits,” said Wan.