This is being written high above the Pacific on a Tokyo-Atlanta flight on the late October Saturday when the Tigers stumbled against the Georgia Bulldogs. Dr. Xueyan Sha, a breeder at the Rice Research Station, and I have spent the past several days visiting the Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Nanning, China. Nanning is in the southern part of central China and is due west of Hong Kong. It is near the border with Vietnam, and because of this, it serves as a major conduit to trade with that country. The Rice Research Institute located at the Guangxi Academy is renowned for its expertise in rice research, and this is the primary purpose of our visit. We hope to establish long-term collaborative research efforts between this Chinese research facility and the Rice Station that will ultimately benefit the Louisiana rice industry.

This research collaboration will include germplasm exchange, as well as exchange of research scientists in the future. One area where this Chinese Academy has great expertise is in rice hybrid development. Rice breeding efforts at the Crowley Rice Station have historically focused on the development of inbred (or pureline) varieties, and very little research effort has been expended on the development of F₁ hybrids for commercial production. With the help of our colleagues from Nanning, this may change. We have plans to initiate research on the development of F₁ hybrids, initially using male sterile lines from the Guangxi Academy as female parents and adapted Louisiana lines as male parents. If successful, these endeavors could have major benefits for Louisiana rice producers, even though these results will not occur overnight.

This is my fifth trip to China over the past 20 years. Since my first trip, I have returned at intervals of 4 to 6 years and, thus, have firsthand knowledge of changes that have occurred in this country over that period of time. The changes I have witnessed are nothing short of incredible. Everything that you have heard about China being an emerging economic power has probably been understated, at least from what has occurred over the past 10 years. The economic development in this country is evident pretty much everywhere. We spent time in Shanghai in addition to Nanning. In both of these cities, in any direction you turn, you will see new construction of high-rise buildings. It is estimated that of all the high-rise construction cranes in the world today, 70 percent are in use in China.

Factories are pervasive – some large and many small – but they are everywhere. Many of these factories appear fairly new and modern. These factories, which are mainly manufacturing goods to be shipped to the United States and other industrialized nations, are the core of the strength of the Chinese economy. Also evident are financial institutions, both large and small. As the Chinese, both collectively and individually, become more prosperous, there is the need for investment as well as credit opportunities.

On my first trip to China 20 years ago, one thing that stuck out was the scarcity of automobiles. Most people in the cities rode buses, were on foot or rode bicycles. That has changed dramatically. Today, cars and trucks are everywhere; bicycles have been replaced with motorized scooters; and while there are still plenty of people afoot, it does not appear to be the mass of humanity I remember from my first trip.

The prosperity of these hardworking people also shows in their attire. Twenty years ago, a majority of the population wore Mao suits. While on this trip, I did not see one, and styles were typical of what one would see in any U.S. city. Upscale stores, coffee shops, boutiques and modern malls are also widespread to provide retail outlets for this newfound prosperity.

This prosperity is not without a price, however. More young people are leaving traditional agricultural areas in the country to pursue fortunes in the city. This has actually created a labor shortage in many farming regions, and the agricultural practices have had to evolve to deal with this. Examples of these modified production practices can be found in planting and harvesting of the rice crop. Twenty years ago, the vast majority of the Chinese rice crop was planted by hand-transplanting, a practice that has been used for thousands of years. Most of the crop was harvested by hand with a sickle.

Today, most of the crop is planted by some form of direct seeding, albeit still by hand. The majority of the crop is combine-harvested in many regions – though their combines are more similar to our smaller experimental plot combines than the behemoths used to harvest the Louisiana rice crop.

Another consequence of this prosperity is air pollution. Certainly the increase in internal combustion engines has had a major effect on air quality. Shanghai is one of the most smog-beset cities I have experienced.

Regardless, China has become a huge industrialized and economic power and will certainly be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

Permission granted by B. Leonards (LA Farm & Ranch) on Nov. 13, 2008 to republish article on www.lsuagcenter.com.