STORY: Dream of "father of hybrid rice" takes root in Africa
SHOOTING TIME: Nov. 17, 2023/file
DATELINE: Nov. 18, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:10
LOCATION: SANYA, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of delegates planting hybrid rice seedlings
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): Yuan Longping, Chinese agronomist
3. various of farmers planting hybrid rice in Africa
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (French): GAOUSSOU SANOU, secretary general of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal and Fisheries Resources of Burkina Faso
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): DEMBA SABALLY, Minister of Agriculture, Gambia

STORYLINE:

In front of a bronze statue of Yuan Longping, scores of African visitors planted hybrid rice seedlings in memory of the "father of hybrid rice."

The delegates to the Second Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Agriculture visited the Paddy Field National Park in Sanya, China's Hainan on Tuesday.

Four years ago, when attending the First Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Agriculture in Sanya, Yuan Longping expressed the hope that hybrid rice could be developed in various African countries and solve food security problems in Africa.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): YUAN LONGPING, Chinese agronomist, "Father of hybrid rice"
"I hope that our hybrid rice will play a role in improving food security in African countries."

Yuan passed away in 2021. Yet his dream lives on.

With the efforts of many Chinese agricultural research institutions and agricultural enterprises, Chinese hybrid rice is now growing in more than 20 African countries.

SOUNDBITE 2 (French): GAOUSSOU SANOU, Secretary general of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal and Fisheries Resources of Burkina Faso
"Yuan Longping is truly an icon of agriculture. He really did a wonderful job. Thanks to his invention, we have different hybrid rice varieties, and the production can reach up to 18 tonnes per hectare. Hybrid rice can help us get rid of poverty, not only in my country, but in the whole of Africa."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): DEMBA SABALLY, Minister of Agriculture, Gambia
"Rice is our staple food. However, we are importing over 75 percent. Currently, we have the China Aid Project of Agricultural Technical Assistance Phase 1 and Phase 2. The project is extremely meaningful and has started to make life-changing activities for our agricultural sector and our farmer population. Through this project, our Chinese counterparts have introduced hybrid seeds that have yielded up to 10.8 tonnes per hectare in an expert-supervised field and up to 7 tonnes per hectare in farmer-supervised fields. Compare this to about 2.5 tonnes per hectare for our traditional rice seeds. Their contribution has almost tripled our productivity."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Sanya, China.
(XHTV)