Yuan Longping

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Yuan Longping (Chinese: 袁隆平, born September 7, 1930) is a Chinese agricultural scientist and educator, known for developing the first hybrid rice varieties in the 1970s. His "hybrid rice" has since been grown in dozens of countries in Africa, America, and Asia —providing a robust food source in high famine risk areas.

Mr. Yuan won the Wolf Prize in agriculture and the World Food Prize in 2004. He is currently is Director-General of the China National Hybrid Rice R&D Center and has been appointed as Professor at Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha. He is a member of the Chinese National Academy of Engineering, foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences (2006) and the 2006 CPPCC.

Mr. Yuan was born in Beijing, China. He loves playing Majong and the Erhu (Chinese violin), swimming and motorcycling.