What's wrong with super rice? Yuan Longping asks why the entire project should be denied

Yuan Longping in the eye of the super rice storm: quietly tackling the rice“nuclear weapon”traveling across most of China in half a year

Since April 9 of this year, when the news was disclosed that the rice variety“Liangyou 0293”suffered reduced yields and total crop failure in Anhui, various discussions about“super rice”have not ceased. On October 9, Yuan Longping published a signed article in Global Times titled "Please Stop Throwing Dirty Water on Super Rice," which undoubtedly added fuel to the super rice discussion. In different places, Yuan Longping expressed the same view: super rice research concerns national food security, and promoting super rice can contribute to national food security.

As the "father of hybrid rice," Yuan Longping's every move is a focus of attention both inside and outside the industry. The date his article was published was exactly half a year from the date the Liangyou 0293 rice was exposed for reduced yields and total crop failure. During these six months, what was Yuan Longping doing? Where did he go? What did he say? To this end, the reporter launched an investigation, attempting to reconstruct Yuan Longping in the eye of the storm.

On October 9, Yuan Longping, wearing a simple plaid shirt and a white suit jacket, appeared in Jiangxi. During one day in Jiangxi, Yuan Longping visited two places: Chengxin Farm in Nanchang city and Raofeng town in Poyang county, Shangrao city——rice demonstration bases located on the east and west banks of Poyang Lake respectively.

On the same day, Global Times published Yuan Longping's signed article "Please Stop Throwing Dirty Water on Super Rice," in which he stated that super rice research concerns national honor and food security, and that no matter what difficulties are encountered, he will never retreat. Coincidentally, this day was exactly 6 months after media exposure of the reduced yield and total crop failure incident involving the rice variety“Liangyou 0293.”That was the starting point of the questioning of Yuan Longping and super hybrid rice: on April 9, media exposed that hybrid rice planted in six cities in Anhui suffered large-scale rice blast due to weather conditions, leading to reduced yields and total crop failure, thus raising the curtain on super rice being widely questioned.

On October 13, Yuan Longping had returned from Jiangxi to Changsha, Hunan. Four days after the publication of "Please Stop Throwing Dirty Water on Super Rice," the article had also caused a sensation. In an interview with a Daily Economic News reporter in Changsha, Yuan Longping said that some outside voices of doubt had an air of“ulterior motives.”This usually gentle old man told the reporter with rare firmness: “I am 85 years old, but I do not accept being old. If you criticize me, I will not waver in the slightest.”

Yuan Longping's secretary told the reporter that after the“Liangyou 0293”incident, Yuan Longping still buried himself in research on the fifth-phase super rice, guiding sowing and harvesting across the country. “He is basically busy with this matter; how would he have time to care about what others say?”

Rice Blast Outbreak: The High-Yield Victory Song Abruptly Stops

On April 9, a news report titled "Ten Thousand Mu of Yuan Longping's Super Rice in Anhui Suffer Reduced Yields and Total Crop Failure, Given ‘Walking Papers’" spread online: the“Liangyou 0293”rice planted in six cities in Anhui suffered rice blast due to abnormal weather, resulting in large-scale reduced yields and total crop failure, with the affected area exceeding ten thousand mu. “Liangyou 0293”therefore encountered a“walking paper,”and the Seed Management General Station under the Anhui Provincial Agricultural Committee repeatedly submitted petitions requesting that the Ministry of Agriculture re-examine the planting region for“Liangyou 0293”and hoping that it would“no longer include our province.”

Because the variety involved,“Liangyou 0293,”was labeled with the name“super rice”in publicity and promotion, super rice's years-long high-yield victory song abruptly stopped. Following this, doubts continued, including“blind pursuit of the super-high-yield goal,”“high water and high fertilizer, not environmentally friendly,”“increased quantity but not increased yield,”and“poor rice quality and taste.”

The 85-year-old“father of hybrid rice,”Yuan Longping, was drawn into the vortex of public opinion. At the time, he was still far away at the hybrid rice base in Sanya, Hainan, tackling the fifth-phase super rice variety“Chaoyou 1000,”which he called the rice“nuclear weapon.”“On April 9, we happened to be in Hainan doing large-scale acceptance checks for fifth-phase super rice. After returning from Sanya in April, we had to sow in Changsha, and by October we had to harvest again.”Yuan Longping's secretary told a Daily Economic News reporter in a phone call. Five days after the“Liangyou 0293”incident broke out, Yuan Longping spoke in response for the first time. He said he did not agree with the view that“super rice emphasizes yield but not quality,”and said, “This time there was a small problem in Anhui, but you cannot say super rice as a whole has problems.”

In early May, Yuan Longping, having just returned from Sanya, introduced the fifth-phase super rice research variety“Chaoyou 1000”to Changsha television media. Although he did not directly respond to the“Liangyou 0293”incident, Yuan Longping said that as the standard of living rises, “(people) are no longer satisfied with eating their fill; they also want to eat well, so we have also made strategic adjustments: we need both high yield and high quality.”

The reporter reviewed public reports about Yuan Longping and found that this was Yuan Longping's last public expression of views on super rice quality and yield before publishing the signed article in Global Times.

Yuan Longping's Confusion: What's Wrong with Super Rice?

During the past silent half year, no one knew what Yuan Longping was thinking. Facing the voices questioning super rice, perhaps Yuan Longping himself was also full of confusion.

“He (Yuan Longping) said, what's wrong with super rice? Did we spend extra money doing research? Or did we fail to produce any results? Or did ordinary people (50.45, 0.00, 0.00%) not benefit? It is simply that in the development process of super rice, some varieties are not disease-resistant. This is a problem that arose in research; you cannot say the entire project is wrong and deny the entire project.”A person close to Yuan Longping told a Daily Economic News reporter.

“For anything, there will be voices in favor and voices against. To say there is not a single voice of opposition would also be abnormal. Some people raise views from their professional and technical perspectives, and that is also very normal.”The aforementioned person said that scientific research work on super rice cannot stop just because voices of doubt appear. The fifth-phase super rice has a total of 39 hundred-mu demonstration plots nationwide. “On this matter (the ‘Liangyou 0293’ incident), the Ministry of Agriculture reached the relevant conclusion, and in fact it has little to do with Teacher Yuan.”

According to Yuan Longping's secretary, after the“Liangyou 0293”incident, Yuan Longping was still busy sowing, inspecting, and acceptance-checking fifth-phase super rice in demonstration fields all over the country. “The busiest times are August, September, and October.”

In fact, starting in mid-to-late July, Yuan Longping, after leaving Sanya, Hainan, became busy.

From July 17 to July 19, Yuan Longping inspected three places in Meizhou, Guangdong, visiting the Youxian demonstration base of the“plant three, produce four”high-yield project, conducting yield measurement and acceptance for the pilot“South China double-season super rice annual yield of three thousand jin per mu technical model,”and researching enterprises.

From August to September, Yuan Longping successively went to Shaoyang in Hunan, Chongqing, Xinyang in Henan, Rizhao in Shandong, Xiangxi in Hunan, and Xiangtan in Hunan to inspect and acceptance-check hundred-mu high-yield super hybrid rice research demonstration plots.

In late September, Yuan Longping led a scientific research team to Cambodia to promote hybrid rice. In fluent English, he introduced the latest high-yield technology and promotion status of hybrid rice to local officials and agricultural experts. He also said he was confident that within 3 years Cambodia's rice yield could be raised from the current 3 tons per hectare to 10 tons. After returning to China from Cambodia, on September 30, on the eve of National Day, Yuan Longping also attended a new hybrid rice variety release event in Hengyang, Hunan. “Anyway, he is like this all year round. Now once October passes, in November he will go to Sanya to sow, and by April next year he will go to harvest again.”Yuan Longping's secretary revealed.

During the half year, Yuan Longping repeatedly emphasized that super rice scientific research work is of great significance for safeguarding national food security.

On October 9, after inspecting the growth of super hybrid rice at Chengxin Farm in Nanchang, Jiangxi, Yuan Longping also said that Jiangxi is one of two provinces that has never interrupted the output of commodity grain, and “if we put more effort into promoting super hybrid rice, we can make new contributions to national food security.”

The reporter reviewed public reports and found that in the past half year, Yuan Longping's personal activities unrelated to hybrid rice work were very few. On his birthday, Yuan Longping also spent the day leading visitors to tour his rice experimental field.

But from his few personal activities, one can also discover another side of this 85-year-old man.

In late June, Yuan Longping returned to his alma mater in Hubei to watch the World Middle School Student Track and Field Competition. In his middle school days, Yuan Longping was a strong swimmer and once won a gold medal in a city swimming competition and a silver medal in a provincial competition; during a research visit to Shenzhen in late July, he accompanied his family on a trip to a wildlife park and watched a football match between AC Milan and Inter Milan.