The Kick-off meeting for 2017 tasks of the Chinese Cassava Agricultural Research System (CCARS) was successfully held in Danzhou, Hainan, on July 31-August 3, 2017. The PI announced the changes of different research laboratories and stations in the beginning followed by the selection of the Executive Committee Panel and the director of research laboratories. Prof. Peng Zhang was elected again as the member of the Executive Committee Panel and the director of Breeding Technology and methodology Laboratory.

All participants intensively discussed the key tasks for next 4 years and exchanged their concerns of how to carry out these tasks. During the group discussion, the specific tasks of each research laboratory and station was intensively discussed and then the results were further consulted by the Executive Committee Panel together with all the directors and station agents. The General Consultant Feijie Lv made constructive guidance for the CCARS tasks of 13th Five-Year Plan. The specific tasks have been allocated to each laboratory and station, respectively, based on their features. The meeting was the first get-together with new recruited members of CCARS, which will strengthen the capacity and cohesion of CCARS. After the meeting, the participants also pay a field visit and tasted the new products made by the Processing Laboratory.

Prof. Peng Zhang, accompanied by Drs. Qiuxiang Ma and Wenzhi Zhou, attended the important event.