BEIJING -- The Agricultural Development Bank of China (ADBC) has issued loans of over 120 billion yuan (about $16.9 billion) to the country's seed industry since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), according to the bank.

The loans have provided policy-backed financial support to tackle bottlenecks in germplasm resources and advance the seed industry's sci-tech self-reliance, the bank said.

It noted that since the beginning of the five-year period, local branches of the ADBC have assessed the financing needs of industrial parks, research institutes and leading seed companies in their respective regions, and have made full use of credit and investment instruments to ensure that financial support fully meets local needs.

The ADBC also manages a modern seed industry development fund, which was established in 2013 and focuses on seed-breeding technological innovation, translating research outcomes into practice and building seed industry bases. By late June this year, the fund had invested about 3.7 billion yuan.

The policy bank said it will continue to deepen cooperation with government departments, research institutes and enterprises to advance the development of China's seed industry.