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 China Search and Rescue Team had pulled out four survivors - three adult females and a girl - after 13 hours of hard work in Myanmar's seriously-hit Mandalay City as of 07:15 local time on Monday.
Following the devastating earthquake in Myanmar, multiple Chinese rescue teams have arrived in the disaster-stricken areas, working with local responders around the clock to search for survivors.
Arrived in Mandalay on Sunday evening, the China Search and Rescue Team employed rescue dogs to locate a trapped survivor at the Great Wall Hotel quake site and attempted to searched for the survivor inside the damaged buildings.
Facing the challenge of a collapsed lower floor in the building where the survivor were trapped, the rescue team explored various strategies before deciding to breach from below the survivor's location, clearing the debris to create an exit and carry the survivor out with a stretcher.
At 00:40 local time on Monday, the survivor, an adult female trapped for nearly 60 hours, was rescued after over five hours of relentless work, marking the first survivor rescued by the team in the city.
Without pausing for rest, the rescuers immediately moved to another nearby site at the Sky Villa apartment complex where a girl informed the team of her 29-year-old elder sister trapping in the rubble. Following the girl's guidance, the rescuers located her elder sister, who was conscious and able to communicate.
As the rescuers worked to provide the girl with food and water and strategize the rescue, aftershocks continued to shake the area.
"The building shook noticeably and then we got out," said a team member.
The team soon returned to the rubble for rescue when the aftershock subsided.
"The lives are waiting for us and we can't give up on a single sign of life," said Han Wendong, the deputy team leader.
According to the girl, she was trapped under the rubble with her elder sister in the earthquake. Being smaller, she managed to find a narrow passage to crawl out. The rescuers found the passage and tried to reach her elder sister.
"She was saying 'hurry up' and 'help.' Her younger sister was encouraging her. It's her third day trapped here today and she's been crying. After the doctor gave her some good life support, she calmed down," said Han.
At 07:15 local time on Monday, the elder sister was freed from the rubble after the team further widened the rescue passage.
The Chinese medical team immediately gave her IV fluids and wrapped her in a thermal blanket before transferring her to a stretcher.
"It took three hours to get her out, instead of two as we expected. We kept working at night till getting her out at dawn. She's only got a cut on one leg and her vital signs are very good and stable. I hope our team will continue to do more to found and save lives," said Han.
Another two survivors were rescued by the China Search and Rescue Team in Mandalay at 05:37 and 06:20 local time on Monday, respectively.
The rescued have all been sent to the hospital for treatment.
A total of 91 personnel from five civilian emergency response forces organized by China's Ministry of Emergency Management have arrived in Myanmar, and been participating in rescue operations.
Besides, a rescue team from China's Yunnan Province rescued an elderly man who had been trapped for nearly 40 hours under the rubble of a hospital in Nay Pyi Taw on Sunday. Also on Sunday, members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team from Hunan Province successfully rescued a survivor at the Mandalay Buddhist Hall in Mandalay.
The death toll from Friday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar has risen to 2,056, with approximately 3,900 people injured and nearly 270 reported missing, according to the country's State Administration Council Information Team on Monday.
Chinese rescuers pull 4 survivors from rubble in Mandalay on Monday morning
