A launch ceremony for a strategic research and consulting project by the Chinese Academy of Engineering, “The Development of Rapeseed Industry Using the Fallow Fields in Winter in the Yangtze River Basin and Southern China Areas”, was held online and on-site at the Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Wuhan on March 24, 2022.

The team reported in detail on the research background, objectives, implementation plan, organization and support mechanism for the study. Presentations described the current situation of fields left to remain fallow in winter as well as development problems, technological challenges and key tasks in effectively enhancing rapeseed production.

The expert panel thought highly of the project and considered it to be of great significance in meeting the country’s strategic requirements against the backdrop of import uncertainties due to trade frictions and the pandemic. 

It is hoped that the project will carry out systematic research and analysis of the entire industry chain, including high-yield rapeseed varieties, efficient production technologies, green processing systems, marketing and consumption habits. The project is expected to put forward practical policy recommendations to expand rapeseed cultivation on fallow fields in winter in the Yangtze River basin and the southern China areas.