KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA (KWS), a world-leading seed supplier from Germany, established its Chinese R&D headquarters in Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City recently. It marks the first foreign-funded agricultural R&D center to settle in the industrial park.
On Oct 13, 2020, KWS signed a cooperation agreement with the Hainan Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City Administration, as well as Nanfan Science and Technology City at a ceremony that marked the third batch of key projects that were being collectively launched in the Hainan Free Trade Port.
It will build an R&D center in Sanya to provide services like crop seed technology R&D, as well as variety testing and evaluation. It will also promote the development of the Nanfan seed industry by making use of Hainan's natural resources and policy advantages.
Zhou Wei, general manager of the China region of KWS's European subsidiary, said at the 2021 International Seed Industry Scientists Conference that Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City aims to build a global transfer base for the introduction of animal and plant germplasm resources, which was an important reason why KWS decided to enter the Hainan market.
KWS has been established for more than 160 years and it entered the China market more than 40 years ago.
