Yuan Longping
Yuan Longping (Chinese: 袁隆平; pinyin: Yuán Lóngpíng; August 13, 1929 – May 22, 2021) was a Chinese agronomist and inventor. He was a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering known for developing the first hybrid rice varieties in the 1970s, part of the Green Revolution in agriculture. For his contributions, Yuan is known as the "Father of Hybrid Rice".
Yuan Longping | |||||||||||
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| 袁隆平 | |||||||||||
Yuan Longping in 2019 | |||||||||||
| Vice Chairman of the Hunan Provincial CPPCC Committee (6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th) | |||||||||||
| In office January 1988 – January 2016 | |||||||||||
| Chairman | Liu Zheng→Liu Fusheng→Wang Keying→Hu Biao→Chen Qiufa | ||||||||||
| Member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC (6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th) | |||||||||||
| In office June 1983 – March 2018 | |||||||||||
| Chairman | Deng Yingchao → Li Xiannian → Li Ruihuan → Jia Qinglin → Yu Zhengsheng | ||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||
| Born | September 7, 1930 Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Dong Cheng, Beijing, Republic of China | ||||||||||
| Died | May 22, 2021 (aged 90) Xiangya Hospital, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China | ||||||||||
| Spouse |
Deng Zhe (m. 1964) | ||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||
| Education | High School Affiliated to Nanjing Normal University | ||||||||||
| Alma mater | Southwest Agricultural College | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Inventor | ||||||||||
| Profession | Agronomist | ||||||||||
| Known for | Hybrid rice | ||||||||||
| Awards | State Preeminent Science and Technology Award (2001) Wolf Prize in Agriculture (2004) World Food Prize (2004) Confucius Peace Prize (2012) Order of the Republic (2019) | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 袁隆平 | ||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 袁隆平 | ||||||||||
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Hybrid rice has since been grown in dozens of countries in Africa, America, and Asia—boosting food security and providing a robust food source in areas with a high risk of famine. The technology allowed China to sustain 20% of the global population on 9% of global arable land, an achievement in food security where he was awarded the 2004 World Food Prize and the 2004 Wolf Prize in Agriculture respectively.