Italian agronomists, media pay respect to China's late "father of hybrid rice"

ROME, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Agronomists and media in Italy paid their respects to Yuan Longping, the Chinese scientist considered the "father of hybrid rice," who died of organ failure at 91 on Saturday.

According to Giovanni Zollo, an agricultural researcher specializing in rice at the University of Verona in northern Italy, Yuan's research helped set the stage for big steps forward in rice research, creating benefits not only in Yuan's native China, but also globally.

"Rice producers around the world owe a debt of gratitude to Yuan Longping," Zollo told Xinhua. "He was a pioneer."

Yuan, an agronomist and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, is known for producing the world's first hybrid rice in the 1970s, resulting in rice strains that grew faster, produced larger yields and were more resistant to disease.

Since the first strains Yuan developed, hybrid rice has been grown in dozens of countries around the world.

In Rome, the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) paid homage to Yuan. FAO director-general Qu Dongyu, a former vice-minister at the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said he was "deeply saddened by the death of Prof. Yuan Longping, my dear master."

Qu went on to write that Yuan "devoted his life to the research of hybrid rice, helping billions achieve food security."

"You were my inspiration," Qu wrote. "May you rest in peace."

Over the years, Yuan's work has also been recognized by the World Food Program and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the other United Nations food agencies based in the Italian capital.

Hybrid rice has been grown in Italy since 2012, as the country searched for ways to make its production more sustainable.

Yuan's death was reported in multiple news sites in Italy, which "bid farewell" to what the Giornale di Brescia -- a publication based in Italy's rice-producing zone -- called the "world-famous father of hybrid rice."

AGI, an Italian news service, praised Yuan's work for "helping feed millions of people in China," while Riso Italiano -- a news site focused on the country's rice industry -- referred to him as "the supreme Chinese rice scientist."