Prof Yuan Longping, man who helped feed China, dies aged 91
Published on: May 27, 2021.
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LAHORE – Professor Yuan Longping, the man who helped feed China, dies at age of 91 at Changsha, China. In Pakistan, Professor Yuan Longping’s Hybrid Rice technology contributed in double the yield of rice, therefore, doubling income of farmers resulting in poverty alleviation, socio economic changes and prosperity in rural areas of Pakistan. Hybrid rice also helped Pakistan in earning $2.3 billion valuable foreign exchange which before rice hybridisation 20 years ago was only few hundred million dollars.
Professor Yuan Longping was widely known as the “Father of Hybrid Rice”. His demise is not only a loss for China, but for the whole mankind and humanity. It was in the 1970s when professor Yuan achieved the breakthrough of inventing hybrid rice that would make him a household name. Professor Longping was not a typical professor who took classes and published papers. He was a much more than that. He was a visionary leader, a revolutionary, and a critical thinker. His success in developing hybrid rice benefited not just the Chinese people, but also other countries that were dealing with the problem of food security. Yuan and his team worked with dozens of countries around the world to address issues of food security as well as malnutrition. It is credited with helping to case food supply worries in China, which has the world’s largest population at 14 billion.
