On August 21, a launch ceremony for Yunnan Province's 2026 sci-tech projects aimed at bolstering the innovation and development of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) seed industry was held at Yunnan Agricultural University. The 18 projects were officially kicked off, with a strategic focus on tackling key challenges in the "chip" of the Yunnan medicine seed sector to help build a world-class modern industry in the province.

These 18 projects cover a wide range of Yunnan's authentic, specialty, and endangered medicinal herb varieties, including coix seed, medicinal ginger, Poria cocos, Polygonum multiflorum, Sophora tonkinensis, Cremastra appendiculata, Cibotium barometz, Knoxia valerianoides, Sinopodophyllum hexandrum, Picrorhiza kurroa, Pseudolophanthus, agarwood, golden buckwheat, Swertia mileensis, Panax japonicus, small green, and Dendrobium officinale. The initiatives will concentrate on critical areas such as the protection and utilization of germplasm resources, innovation in breeding technologies, selection of superior varieties, and the development of a comprehensive breeding, propagation, and promotion system. The goal is to address weaknesses, reinforce foundations, and provide solid scientific and technological support to transform Yunnan's medicine industry into a world-class modern sector.

Yunnan is the province with the richest TCM resources in China, boasting 8,875 medicinal plant species, which accounts for more than half of the nation's total. The province's TCM planting area has reached 11.608 million mu, with a comprehensive output value exceeding 180 billion yuan. Both the scale of planting and the comprehensive output value have consistently ranked first in the country for many years. The seed industry is the "chip" of TCM agricultural production and serves as the source and lifeline for the high-quality development of the Yunnan medicine industry.

The provincial party committee and government have explicitly proposed cultivating Yunnan's TCM industry into a world-class modern industry. In early 2025, the Provincial Rural Work Leading Group issued the "Three-Year Action Work Plan for the High-Quality Development of Yunnan Province's TCM Industry (2025-2027)," which sets a goal for the province to maintain its national leading position in the TCM industry scale by 2027, with the entire industrial chain's output value reaching over 200 billion yuan. Taking a holistic approach and acting proactively, the Provincial Department of Science and Technology organized and planned 25 special sci-tech projects in 2025, including seed industry innovation, with a support fund of 123 million yuan. For 2026, it has further approved 18 projects focused on seed industry innovation and development, aiming to precisely address the shortcomings of the seed "chip" and empower the high-quality development of Yunnan's TCM industry through technological advancement.