China's advanced breeding and genetic technologies will make help
eradicate global famine as the country cooperates still more with
others in rice technology, experts attending the 1st International
Rice Congress said.
Wang Ren, deputy-director of the International Rice Research
Institute, said China has achieved a great deal in rice research
since the early 1970s, which has not only helped solve its food
problems but has served as an example for developing countries'
fight against famine and food shortage.
According to statistics from the U.N. Food and Agricultural
Organization (UNFAO), rice is a daily staple for 3 billion people
around the world, and 2 billion Asians obtain 80 percent of their
needed calories from rice.
Peter Kenmoore of the UNFAO said that throughout Asian history rice
shortage has caused large-scale famine, death and social turmoils,
while a bumper rice harvest contributed considerably to social
development.
Wang Ren said that China's rice scientists, represented by
Professor Yuan Longping, have made great breakthroughs in hybrid
rice technology, which is significant for developing countries'
rice production.
Since the 1990s, China has continuously sent rice specialists to
Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Burma, Vietnam and other countries to
teach about hybrid rice and other technologies.
At
present, many developing nations have started to adopt and spread
Chinese rice technology. U.N. statistics show that by the end of
2001, excluding China, Asia had approximately 800,000 hectares of
cropland planted with high yield hybrid rice.
A
great number of developing countries have found hope and confidence
that they can make the same achievements as China, Wang said,
expressing the belief that advanced breeding technologyis a good
way to raise rice output and solve food problems.
Sources from China's rice research institutes said that on the
basis of the recently concluded rice genome framework map, China
will soon launch the rice functional genome research project with
an investment of over 100 million yuan (12 million US dollars).
Moreover, Wang said, sharing the secret of rice genes is solelyfor
the global public welfare and will greatly change scientific
research on such fields as rice breeding and the prevention and
eradication of pests.
Famine is still a grave problem facing human beings, he
acknowledged. Up to 800 million people in the world are suffering
from food shortage and each year 14 million children under the
ageof four die from hunger.
"With the increase in its government's investment in rice research
and its scientists' concerted efforts, China will surely make a
greater contribution to the eradication of global famine," Wang
said.
(
Xinhua News
Agency September 19, 2002)