that could sustain and grow in tropical countries to help their food supply chains. In addition to donating important rice strains, Yuan and his team taught farmers in other countries to grow and cultivate hybrid rice. Honors and awards Four asteroids and a college in China have been named after him. The minor planet 8117 Yuanlongping was also named after him. 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 was the Director-General of the China National Hybrid Rice R&D Center and appointed Professor at Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha. He was a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, foreign associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (2006) and the 2006 CPPCC. Yuan worked as the chief consultant for the FAO in 1991. Personal life Yuan married one of his students, Deng Ze () in 1964. They had three sons, among them Yuan Ding'an () and Yuan Dingjiang (). Death On March 10, 2021, Yuan Longping collapsed at his hybrid rice research base in Sanya. On April 7, he was transferred to Changsha, Hunan Province for treatment. At 13:07 on May 22, Yuan Longping died of multiple organ failure at (). Considered a national hero, tens of thousands of people sent flowers to the funeral home. References Citations Bibliography Ch. 3 "Yuan Longping: 'Intellectual Peasant'." Further reading External links Yuan Longping -- Father of Hybrid Rice (2001-03-05) Yuan Longping -- Remembrance by Chen Lei, Translation by Rainy Liu (2021-06-01) 1930 births 2021 deaths Chinese agronomists 20th-century Chinese inventors Deaths from multiple organ failure Scientists from Beijing Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Ramon Magsaysay Award winners Southwest University alumni UNESCO Science Prize laureates Wolf Prize in Agriculture laureates Recipients of the Order of the Republic (China) Academic staff of Hunan Agricultural University Winners of the Nikkei Asia Prize Members of the Standing Committee of the 6th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the Standing Committee of the 7th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the Standing Committee of the 8th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the Standing Committee of the 9th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the Standing Committee of the 10th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the Standing Committee of the 11th Chinese People's