An invitation to sponsor
16 rapeseed congresses have been held, the last one in France being in Paris in 1983.
Over the past 50 years, rapeseed has won and maintained its position as the world’s second largest annual oilseed crop and third largest source of vegetable oil, with production more than doubling in the last 25 years. The challenge of keeping pace with global demand has therefore been successfully met.
Today, agriculture in general and oilseed rape in particular are facing the major challenge of climate change and the host of issues that go with it: tolerance of species to physiological stresses, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions linked to the use of nitrogen fertilisers or agricultural machinery, new methods of protecting crops against new pests and emerging diseases, development of new combinations of agronomic practices that ensure production and respect for the environment, with the accompanying management tools. Also, the optimization of rapeseed products – oil, proteins and minor compounds – with a view to biorefinery adapted to a certain form of sobriety. All this while maintaining a level of production that can keep pace with demand for vegetable oils and proteins that will continue to grow over the next few years, both for priority food uses and for non-food uses.
Building the necessary transitions will require scientific and technical collaboration between countries to mobilise all the knowledge already acquired and to pool efforts to acquire new knowledge and innovate. The complexity of the challenges we face calls for a systemic approach integrating scientific disciplines – from genetics to agrophysiology, from pest biology to agronomy, from nutrition to food science – and agricultural engineering – from the development of varieties and inputs to the design of innovative cropping and production systems – and agri-food engineering.
Sponsoring the 17th IRC in Paris will highly contribute to develop this spirit of scientific excellence and interdisciplinary exchanges between public and private scientists and professionals, and to fertilize the innovation processes, which is at the heart of the GCIRC’s history.
