Gambian farmer honors Yuan Longping's hybrid rice legacy

As rain fell, Musa Darboe, a farmer from The Gambia, stood before the grave of late Chinese scientist Yuan Longping in Changsha, Hunan province, on Wednesday to pay respects. He laid down newly harvested rice from his farm and presented a painting of harvesters working in rice fields.

"Professor Yuan, your seeds have taken root in Gambia. We are no longer hungry," Darboe said. "Just like you said, people are like seeds, and one must strive to be a good seed."

Darboe's farm is the first in Gambia to use agricultural machines. He learned about hybrid rice technology from Yuan's team. The farmer recalled Yuan's advice: "Farming requires down-to-earth effort; a single seed can change the world." They are words he believes are becoming a reality in his homeland.

Last year, Darboe entrusted Hunan Daily reporters to deliver rice to his mentor's resting place. This year, he traveled 12,000 kilometers to Hunan to make a more sincere tribute.

"It was very emotional for me to pay tribute to Yuan because he was the one helping to feed the whole world," he told China Daily. "And now I have the responsibility to help realize his dream of making sure the whole world has hybrid rice."

He continued: "We all have to try in our own way to make sure hybrid rice is grown around the world because it is only through hybrid rice can we feed the whole world."

Yuan, revered as the "father of hybrid rice", was a pioneering Chinese scientist whose work developing high-yield hybrid rice varieties substantially increased global food security.