The Man Who Fed The World

By Tao Xing

When the hearse left Xiangya Hospital in Changsha， Hunan Province， on May 22， it was the setting of an unusual scene. A large crowd stood outside the hospital to say farewell to the man in it and they began to cry out， “Grandpa Yuan， rest in peace！”

Yuan Longping， known as the father of hybrid rice in China， died of organ failure on May 22 at the age of 91. But the legacy he left behind will continue to improve food security and research around the world and inspire generations of agro-scientists. His research helped feed 1.4 billion Chinese， nearly one fifth of the worlds population， by growing high-yield hybrid rice though China has less than 9 percent of the arable land in the world.

When a memorial service was held in Changsha two days later， thousands of people thronged the funeral home， many of whom had come from other parts of China， laying flowers or sheaves of rice， along with messages of grief and admiration， and pictures they had drawn for him. Thousands more attended the online memorial， lighting candles virtually and paying tribute in different ways.

On social media， people posted images of their empty plates， writing they would miss Yuan when they ate and promising not to waste rice and other food. “I had never seen so many people come spontaneously to mourn someone，” a worker at the funeral home told China News Service.

International organizations， scientists and the media all expressed their sorrow and admiration.

“Today， we mourn the passing of a true food hero，” the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs tweeted on May 22. “Chinese scientist Yuan Longping saved millions of people from hunger by developing the first hybrid rice strains. He passed away today at 91， but his legacy and his mission to end hunger lives on.”

Qu Dongyu， Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization， said in a tweet， “Deeply saddened by the death of Professor Yuan Longping， my dear master （sic）. He devoted his life to the research of hybrid rice， helping billions achieve food security. You were my inspiration. May you rest in peace.”

The trigger

Yuans work was inspired by the scenes of starvation and death he witnessed as a youngster when China was yet to be food-sufficient. “I saw heartbreaking scenes of people starving to death in the streets during the famine，” Yuan once remarked， saying this was the main reason he decided to research on hybrid rice.