China's new rapeseed variety increases yield, enhances food security

A new rapeseed variety developed by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) has been widely planted in Meishan City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, reporting a significant increase in yield per unit, further enhancing China's food security.

In 2024, China launched a national initiative aiming to improve per-unit yield for grain and oil crops. According to the annual statistics, the average food yield per hectare in 2024 has increased by 76.5 kilograms compared with 2023.

To further ensure domestic food security, China's "No. 1 central document" for 2025, unveiled on Sunday, reiterated the need to promote the large-scale yield improvement initiative, expand the implementation scale, and further advocate high-yield and efficient farming models. By introducing new varieties and high-density planting techniques, the rapeseed field in Meishan is among the leading models.

Compared with ordinary rapeseed plant varieties, whose best plant density is around 225,000 plants per hectare, the new variety requires a tighter row spacing from 33 to 35 centimeters to 27, thus nearly doubling the density, raising the number to 450,000.

The oil content of its seeds also reached over 50 percent, ranking among the top compared with major rapeseed varieties planted across China.

In 2024, the National Development and Reform Commission announced a new initiative to increase grain production by 50 million metric tons by 2030. Improving the per unit yield of grains and oil crops is vital to achieving the 2030 goal, while developing new varieties, and adopting new techniques, equipment, and agriculture models are critical approaches, said an expert.

"We need to increase the per unit yield, and we are capable of doing it. In view of our practical results, we should speed up efforts to sum up the experiences from the past two years of pilot projects, form a set of effective technological integration models and best practices, and transform these experiences into systematic methodologies for broader application. This will play a significant role in ensuring national food security and firmly securing China's food supply," said Zhong Yu from the Agricultural Economy Institute, CAAS.

China's new rapeseed variety increases yield, enhances food security

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) government has issued a statement promising to cover the food and accommodation costs for stranded tourists in hotels across the country, following Iran's military strikes on US bases in the region.

Iran's retaliatory strikes came after the United States and Israel launched what they called "major combat operations" against Iran, which led to the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, a number of senior officials, and a large number of civilians. Iran's retaliatory attacks have targeted Israel and U.S. facilities across the region, with explosions reported in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The UAE government issued a notice to hotels on Sunday, stating that given the current special circumstances, some tourists, although past their original check-out date, are unable to leave the country due to force majeure. The statement requests all hotels to extend the stay of these guests until they can leave the country smoothly, noting that the relevant costs will be borne by the government.

Previously, the UAE News Agency issued a statement saying that due to the large-scale cancellation of flights, the closure of airports nationwide, and the blockade of airspace, the UAE General Authority of Civil Aviation would be responsible for paying for the food and accommodation costs of thousands of stranded tourists.

Chinese tourists stranded in Abu Dhabi told China Media Group reporter that they were pleasantly surprised to receive assistance from the UAE government.

"It was quite unexpected, because logically it shouldn't be provided by them; it's more like an extra service for tourists. An announcement from the UAE Department of Culture and Tourism said that stranded people can be provided with free accommodation until flights resume. The hotel provides three meals a day, and daily laundry service. We saw it on Ctrip; it's a four-star hotel, one of the better chain hotels recommended by the platform," said a Chinese tourist.

UAE to provide free accommodation, food to stranded tourists following Iranian attacks