Published May 25, 2021, 3:42 PM
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Tuesday joined the international community in mourning the death of Chinese scientist Yuan Longping who is also known worldwide as the “Father of Hybrid Rice”.
“The Asian world shares China’s grief,” Locsin said in a tweet, three days after Yuan died of organ failure at the age of 91.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) based in Los Baños, Laguna credited Yuan for his work that jumpstarted the large-scale production of hybrid rice and has been vital to the development of modern hybrid varieties.
“Today we remember and honor Prof. Yuan Longping, Father of Hybrid Rice and a stalwart pillar of rice science. His work jumpstarted the large-scale production of hybrid,” the IRRI said in a tweet.
HarvestPlus is working with the Indonesian government to scale up equitable and cost-effective access to nutritious zinc-biofortified rice in the southeast Asian nation. The government’s target for 2021 is to have zinc rice planted on 100,000 hectares (ha) of farmland, primarily in provinces that show the highest rates of childhood stunting, and then increase the planting area in subsequent years.
The promotion of zinc rice is part of the government’s strategy to address the effects of widespread malnutrition particularly stunting. In 2018, close to 3 in every 10 children under five years of age in Indonesia were stunted.
Several risk factors influence stunting, including maternal knowledge about nutrition, socio-economic background, genetics, and inadequacy of minerals in the diet, especially iron and zinc. The lack of zinc consumption during the formative years of life is a significant contributor. For example, a research study in Kejawan Putih Tambak Surabaya, Indon
Posted by John Chan | May 24, 2021
This weekend, the Chinese public mourned the passing of Yuan Longping, the Chinese agronomist whose scientific breakthroughs in rice development helped to usher in the Green Revolution that ended famine in large parts of the world. Yuan, who was awarded China’s highest official honor in 2019, passed away on Saturday in Changsha at the age of 90. Throngs of citizens and public officials mourned his passing and celebrated his achievements, but authorities were also quick to censor criticism and arrest individuals who insulted him online. The New York Times’ Keith Bradsher and Chris Buckley
Mr. Yuan’s research made him a national hero and a symbol of dogged scientific pursuit in China. His death triggered messages of grief across the country, where Mr. Yuan slight, elfin-featured and wizened in old age was a celebrity. Hundreds left flowers at the funeral home where his body was being kept.
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