May 22, according to Xinhua News Agency reported, "*** and the State Medal" recipient, Chinese Academy of Engineering, director of the National Hybrid Rice Engineering Technology Research Center, the Hunan Provincial People's Political Consultative Conference former vice chairman Yuan Longping, due to multiple organ failure, died in Changsha at 13:07 on May 22, 2021, at the age of 91 years old.
Xinhua News Agency photo by Zhang Yu
Yuan Longping was the founder of China's research and development of hybrid rice, and the world's first scientist to successfully utilize the hybrid advantage of rice, and is known as the "Father of Hybrid Rice". He broke the constraints of classical genetics, began to research hybrid rice in 1964, successfully selected and bred the world's first practical high-yield hybrid rice varieties "nanyou 2". Hybrid rice results since 1976 in the country's large-scale popularization and application, so that the rice yield and total yield can be greatly improved.
Over the years, he has led a team to develop super hybrid rice, and achieved the targets of 10.5 tons, 12 tons, 13.5 tons and 15 tons per hectare in large-scale demonstrations in 2000, 2004, 2011 and 2014 respectively. The newly bred third-generation hybrid rice, Sanyou No. 1, was planted in 2020 as a double-season evening rice with an average yield of 911.7 kilograms per hectare, and together with the second-generation hybrid early rice yield of 619.06 kilograms per hectare, the annual per hectare yield reached 1,530.76 kilograms per hectare, and achieved the goal of the annual mu yield of 3,000 kilograms of rice for the tapping project. "Development of hybrid rice, benefit the people of the world" is Yuan Longping's lifelong pursuit. In order to realize this ambition, he has long been committed to promoting hybrid rice to the world.
Until the beginning of 2021, he insisted on carrying out scientific research at the Sanya South Propagation Base in Hainan. He even planted hybrid rice in deserts and saline lands, in Africa and around the world. Yuan has said that if the research on sea water rice is successful, it will add at least 100 million mu of arable land to the country and feed an additional 100 million people; and if the yield increases by 2 tons per hectare according to the current situation, it will feed an additional 500 million people. Yuan Longping has talked about his two dreams in public many times: one is "cool under the grass dream", that is, the pursuit of super rice high yield; the other is "cover the world dream", so that the super rice out of the country for the benefit of the world.
Life-long struggle for the cause of food, lifelong advocate of thrift
September 2020, Yuan Longping academician said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency, a good harvest is not a reason to waste, we must always tighten the string of food security.
Yuan said, respect for the sky and food, thrift and frugality since ancient times is the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation. These years, China's grain harvest in successive years, has been stabilized for five consecutive years at more than 1.3 trillion pounds, wheat supply and demand balance for many years have more than enough, rice supply is greater than demand, the absolute safety of the ration is guaranteed. 2019 China's per capita food possession of more than 470 kilograms, far higher than the per capita 400 kilograms of the international food security of the standard line. However, a good harvest is not a reason to waste, we must always tighten the string of food security.
"I am researching hybrid rice, the purpose is to increase the production of food, to ensure food security. Every grain is hard to come by, from sowing to harvesting, each grain can be said to absorb the essence of heaven and earth, sun and moon, attached to the sweat of farmers. Researchers are trying to find ways to improve rice production, even if it is not easy to increase 5-10%! Increased food production is a happy thing! But when you see the increase in production of food but was wasted, is how distressing thing. Look at factory canteens, hotels and restaurants, school canteens, white rice poured in slop buckets, too harsh! Nowadays, the per capita food waste rate in the catering industry is more than 10%, and the waste in large gatherings is even closer to 40%. Though they are bought with money, what's the point of having money when there is no food? It used to be said: two golden dollars can't pick a single nest egg; in the 1960s, someone with 10 yuan, the largest denomination on the market at the time, tried to buy a catty of food stamps, but couldn't. You can't fill your stomach even if you have money!" Yuan said.
Advocating economizing is not to force people to do anything, nor is it to ask them to eat less, nor is it the same as running out of food, but it is a reminder to keep in mind the commandment of "not forgetting hunger and misery in the year of abundance, and thinking of economizing in the year of plenty", and not to cause unnecessary wastage. "People who have experienced the three years of natural disasters will have a deep impression of hunger. I have personally seen people fall on the roadside, by the ridge and under the bridge because of hunger, which really stung like a heartache. In those difficult times, food was very precious. Because we have experienced the pain of hunger, our generation is extraordinarily precious about food."
Yuan won the special prize for national invention in 1981, the first National Highest Science and Technology Prize in 2001, the special prize for national scientific and technological progress in 2014, the title of "Reform Pioneer" in 2018, and was awarded the "Order of the **** and the State" in 2019. He was also awarded the title of "Reform Pioneer" in 2018 and "Order of **** and State" in 2019. He has also won more than 20 domestic and international awards, including the UNESCO Science Prize. Lu Yang collated