Yuan Longping, known as" the father of hybrid"(杂交) rice, created hybrid rice. It helps feed the world.
In the 1960s, many people didn't have enough food to eat. Yuan decided to work on a kind of hybrid rice as the thought this rice could feed more people.
At first, some other scientists didn't think hybrid rice was possible. But Yuan wanted to try anyway. He spent four years looking for a kind of wild rice that could be crossed with other kinds of rice. In 1964, he found it.
In 1973, he grew the world's first hybrid rice strain(品种). Compared with common ones, the strain has great advantages. It can produce 20% more rice per mu. Besides, farmers can grow it on many different kinds of land. And it can fight bad weather, too. This kind of hybrid rice has been grown all over China. It has helped China feed nearly one fifth of the world's population with only about 7% of the world's farmland.
Because of his great achievement (成就), Yuan won many prizes, including the Medal of the Republic, the highest honor(荣誉) in China. He will be remembered in everyone's heart.