Chairman Lai Bailin addresses high-anthocyanin corn at WAFI 2026

Chairman Lai Bailin with Xia Jingyuan, Senior Adviser to the FAO Director-General; Cheng Xiangwen, Honorary President of Hebi Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Academician Jia Yinsuo of the African Academy of Sciences; and Zhang Hengwei, Chairman of Zhongke Future Tech Group

From 17–19 September, the 2026 World AgriFood Innovation Conference was held in Pinggu, Beijing. NONGKEYU Group Chairman Lai Bailin was invited and gave a keynote at the high-anthocyanin corn science & industry alliance parallel session: “Small Corn · Big Health · Big Industry — Building a New Ecosystem for High-Anthocyanin Corn.”

Under the theme “Green and Healthy Transformation of Agri-Food Systems,” the conference called for integrating agriculture and food with medicine, moving from “eating enough” to “eating for health.” Lai shared four perspectives: industry outlook, current gaps, company practice, and alliance proposals.

Figure 1: Chairman Lai Bailin delivering his keynote at WAFI 2026 (Source: NONGKEYU Group)

Lai put forward three judgements: high-anthocyanin corn meets the “greater food” concept and Healthy China needs—anthocyanins support eye health and antioxidation; purple corn is rich, low-cost and usable for both food and feed; it is also a win–win track. China’s fresh-corn planting area is nearly 30 million mu, with returns 2–3× ordinary corn and processing value-add of 5–10×, plus realistic potential for technology and products to go global.

Domestic R&D is deep and underpins the industry. While optimistic, he also named three gaps: many varieties but no unified standards; a short value chain; and limited market awareness—good products still “kept in the boudoir.”

Figure 2: Chairman Lai Bailin speaking at the parallel session; the screen shows the talk title (Source: NONGKEYU Group)

Facing these challenges, NONGKEYU is already on the way: more than 20 years in fresh corn; a seed-to-table model; varieties such as Nongke Nuo 336, Nongke Yu 368 and Jingke Nuo 768—with Nongke Nuo 336 listed as a national leading variety for four years running; and a shift from selling seed alone to exporting technical solutions and building platforms, ready to open breeding, bases and processing channels to partners.

Grounded in “agri-food integration and agri-medicine linkage,” Lai proposed four initiatives:Co-build germplasm resources, secure the seed industry’s “chip”;Co-set industry standards, establish a clear industry yardstick;Co-expand full-chain value, unlock industry potential;Co-shape a public brand, tell China’s corn story well, and use the Belt and Road to take variety demonstration, technology and products overseas.

Figure 3: “Small Corn · Big Health · Big Industry” — high-anthocyanin corn science & industry alliance session (Source: NONGKEYU Group)

Lai said a small ear of corn links seed R&D, household tables, livestock feed and rural revitalization. If partners unite—improving varieties, grounding standards, lengthening the chain and strengthening brands—high-anthocyanin corn can become a high-value crop for rural revitalization.