CHANGSHA -- Chinese Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu has urged local governments to give top priority to establishing a modern seed industry in an effort to promote the stable development of the country's agriculture sector and ensure food security.

Relevant local authorities should include breeding high-quality seeds in their efforts to boost agricultural innovation and develop a modern agricultural system, Hui said at a national work conference on developing a modern seed industry held in Changsha, the capital city of central China's Hunan province, on Monday.

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"All regions and departments concerned should step up efforts to accelerate the seed industry's modernization and strive to transition from a traditional seed industry to a modern one," he said.

He called for efforts to advance technical innovation in breeding top quality seeds, promote seed enterprises' competitiveness through mergers and restructuring, strengthen policy support to ensure seed supplies and enhance seed market supervision.

He also urged authorities in different regions to make local plans for boosting the country's seed industry, fully implement central government's support policies, push forward reforms in the seed industry's research, production, operation and management sectors, and enhance cooperation with other relevant departments.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had previously given important instructions regarding the development of China's seed industry, saying that speeding up the construction of a seed industry was a strategic option for the country to develop a modern agricultural system and ensure food security.

Wen also stressed the importance of agricultural innovation, policy support and seed market regulation in enhancing the development level of the country's seed industry and ensuring seed safety.