diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 732bde6f5..df8253d81 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -23,6 +23,9 @@ Bugs fixed
    mismatch error with some build/install toolchain (issue #984). The import is now
    lazy/delayed.
 
+- Installation targets `pandas`, `all`, and `test` now specify `pandas>=1.2.0`
+  (which should limit frequencies of issues like #998).
+
 Changes
 -------
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 488ce6426..bb79cab86 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ For example, to be able to run the unit tests:
 pip install rpy2[test]
 ```
 
-To install all dependencies, use:
+To install all optional dependencies (numpy, pandas, ipython), use:
 
 ```bash
 pip install rpy2[all]
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 6c9dcbedf..d53cdbdaf 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -36,11 +36,11 @@ dependencies = [
 dynamic = ["version"]
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
-test = ["pytest", "ipython", "numpy", "pandas"]
-numpy = ["pandas"]
-pandas = ["numpy", "pandas"]
+test = ["pytest", "ipython", "numpy", "pandas>=1.2.0"]
+numpy = []
+pandas = ["numpy", "pandas>=1.2.0"]
 types = ["mypy", "types-pytz", "types-tzlocal"]
-all = ["pytest", "ipython", "pandas", "numpy"]
+all = ["pytest", "ipython", "pandas>=1.2.0", "numpy"]
 
 [project.urls]
 Homepage = "https://rpy2.github.io"