Yuan Longping (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 State Preeminent Science and Technology Award of China in 2000, the Wolf Prize in agriculture

and the World Food Prize in 2004. He is currently is DirectorGeneral 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 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.