French industry encourages sunflower planting for food sovereignty

The Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the world’s two leading producers of sunflower seeds, oil, and cake, impacts agricultural markets. An increase in sunflower land in France, 700,000 ha on average in recent years, and the optimization of crop management would compensate the loss related to the suspension of imports of sunflower oil and cake from Ukraine, waiting for the recovery of normal trade flows. The sunflower crop in France had very good technical and economic results in 2021, with average yields ranging from 28 to 30 quintals per hectare. Moreover, its low fertilizer and water requirements are also an advantage in the context of rising fertilizer prices and climate change. Thus, this oilseed crop has many benefits to enable producers to meet the challenges of food sovereignty, climate change, the reduction of plant protection products, or societal requirements.