DA Chief meets ‘Father of hybrid rice’

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Created on Tuesday, 02 April 2013 Published Date

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala (2nd from left) meets Professor Yuan Longping (middle), China’s ‘Father of hybrid rice,’ and Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Ma Keqing (left), who called on him, April 1, 2013, at the DA national office in Quezon City. Professor Longpin shared with the DA chief how he developed hybrid rice that made China self-sufficient and a major producer.

Currently the Director General of China Hybrid Rice R&D Center, Longpin is in the country to keynote the 1st National Hybrid Rice Congress, April 3-5, 2013, at the DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute, in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija. During the meeting, Secretary Alcala and Ambassador Ma also discussed the expansion of the Philippine-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology (PhilSCAT) in Muñoz, including the establishment of 100-hectare production areas in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to field-test  PhilSCAT-developed hybrid rice varieties and farm machinery. Also shown with them are SL Agritech Corp. chairman and CEO Henry Lim Bon Liong and former PhilRice director and current DA rice program consultant Dr. Santiago Obien. (Photo by Katrhrino Resurreccion, DA Information Service)