China’s ‘father of hybrid rice’ Yuan Longping dies at 90

The Chinese agronomist was known for developing the first hybrid rice varieties in the 1970s and regarded as a national hero for boosting the country’s grain harvests.

The official Hunan Daily newspaper reported that Yuan died of organ failure in hospital in Changsha, the capital of central China’s Hunan province, just after 1pm.

There had earlier been some confusion about the state of his health, prompting state broadcaster China Global Television Network to issue an apology.

In 2019 Yuan was nominated for the Medal of the Republic, the country’s highest honour, for his contribution to China’s food security and scientific development of agriculture, as well as increasing the world’s food output.

In 2014, he said he was working with researchers on rice that had been genetically modified – a controversial technology but one that aimed to help China meet its agricultural goals at the time.

Earlier this year, he become an overnight internet sensation, after an account titled “Chinese Pioneer Yuan Longping” was set up on the short video app Douyin – the Chinese version of TikTok.