Who will feed China? 87-year-old rice expert answers the call

Yuan Longping's superstrain raises hopes for averting a global food crisis

20180206_yuan longping china

Yuan Longping of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, center, aimed to achieve a yield of 17 tons per hectare by age 90. He succeeded at 87.

TADANORI YOSHIDA, Nikkei senior staff writer

TOKYO -- For decades, it has been one of the world's biggest questions. Lester Brown, a noted American environmental analyst, posed it succinctly in the title of his 1995 book: "Who Will Feed China?"

The answer might just be an 87-year-old researcher named Yuan Longping.

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