Yuan Longping, the hybrid rice agronomist who fed China, has died

Well-known Chinese agronomist Yuan Longping died today at the age of 90 from a failure of his vital organs, said the hospital in Changsha, in the central province of Hunan, where he was hospitalized. Born in 1930, Yuan is known for developing the first hybrid rice strains in the 1970s, helping China to feed nearly a fifth of the world‘s population with less than 9% of the earth’s surface: for this reason, it was known as the ” Chinese father of hybrid rice “, considered a national hero because his research had led to a 20% improvement in crop yields across the country.