"Father of hybrid rice" visits Yunnan, ASEAN many times

Seas of people paid their respects to Yuan Longping, China's top rice scientist, at his funeral in Changsha, Hunan province, on May 24.

It was raining. Over 100,000 came to mourn for the "father of hybrid rice".

Loving his country and caring for the people, Yuan devoted himself to rice cultivation and spent most of his lifetime in the fields.

He is a role model and scholar of no equal.

In his long rice research, Yuan Longping visited Yunnan province several times.

Yuan’s visit to south Yunnan’s Gejiu in 1986 for hybrid-rice promotion.

Yuan had a field trip to Lijiang’s Yongsheng County in 1999.

Yuan attended the 70th anniversary of Yunnan Agricultural University on September 20, 2008.

Yuan’s visit to a rice field in south Yunnan’s Gejiu in August 2009.

Yuan had a speech on “hybrid rice and food security” in Yunnan in the year 2010.

On November 18, 2017, Yunnan came to south Yunnan’s Mengzi to mark the hybrid rice yield of over 1,100kg/mu for four consecutive years.

Now, Yuan’s hybrid rice is planted in over 60 countries and regions, including India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, USA, Brazil, Madagascar and others. The total coverage exceeded 7,000,000 hectares.

The hybrid-rice acreage in Asia is 4,500,000 hectares.

In Vietnam, the Chinese hybrid rice is introduced into Vietnam in the 1990s, and now it is grown in the dry and mountainous areas, as well as in the salty coastal areas. As a result, the Vietnamese rice output is increased by 20% to 30%.

Myanmar first adopted the hybrid rice in 2016. Now the acreage reached 200,000 mu (around 13,000 hectares), with a yield of 550kg/mu. The rice cut the production cost for local farmers.

During an interview with People’s Daily in May 2018, Veng Sakhon, Cambodian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, thanked Yuan Longping for having the hybrid rice grown in the country, with a yield of 900kg/mu.

In the Philippines, the hybrid rice is grown on over 10 percent of arable land in the Philippines, increasing local rice yield by 2,400,000 tons per year. Official statistics say the rice now nourishes 15 million, or 14% of the Philippine population.

In 2004, Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn presented Yuan a Golden Sickle medal, honoring his contribution to hybrid-rice research.

Starting in 2010, China and Indonesia cooperated technically in the hybrid rice, which is called “super rice” by local folks. Now the rice is grown in 13 Indonesian provinces.

On January 31, 2012, Yuan was granted the Mahathir Science Award in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. with his contribution to tropical agriculture recognized.

Yuan Longping once said: "The hybrid rice technology not only belongs to China, but also to the whole world. I hope all could have more rice and never go hungry.”

Farewell to senior Yuan!

By Zhu Dongran and Wang Shixue