Yuan, director of the National Hybrid Rice Engineering Technology Research Center and a faculty member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, made the remarks at the World Expo’s third theme forum, which opened on Sunday in Wuxi, in east China’s Jiangsu Province.

The new hybrid, the phase-III super hybrid rice, was expected to yield 13.5 tonnes of rice per hectare, Yuan said.

The previous hybrid, the second-generation super hybrid, was released for commercial production in 2006, yielding 9 tonnes of rice per hectare, on average

Rice is a major food crop that feeds more than half of the world’s population, Yuan said.

China is now planting 440 million mu (29 million hectares) of rice per year, with an average output capacity of 6.3 tonnes per hectare.

Among the acreage, hybrid rice accounts for about 57 percent of the total, with an average output capacity of 7.2 tonnes per hectare.

“The average yield of hybrid rice is at least 20 percent more than that of inbred rice, feeding 70 million more people annually,” Yuan said.

China is faced with a challenging grain situation this summer because of strong rainfalls in the south during the summer harvest season. Other problems include droughts in northern grain production areas and lingering low temperatures in the south.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, China needs to maintain an annual grain output of 500 million tonnes to feed the nation’s 1.3 billion people.

China’s summer grain output rose six years in a row to top 123.35 million tonnes in 2009, which was 2.6 million tonnes more than the previous year.

“Hybrid rice will play a key role in ensuring food security worldwide in the new century,” Yuan said.

“If 50 percent of the world’s rice paddies were planted with hybrids, rice production could be increased by another 150 million tonnes, and 400 to 500 million more people could be fed,” he said.

Yuan believes food security is “a war people can not afford to lose” .

“The global economic downturn will always end, but food security is the problem we have to face every second,” Yuan said.

Statistics from the United Nations showed about 1 billion people were suffering from hunger and malnutrition and every six seconds saw a child dying of hunger or related diseases.

With the theme “science & technology innovation and urban future”, the two-day forum focuses on innovations in science and technology.

The previous two theme forums of the World Expo centered on communications and cultural heritages.

Yuan started working on hybrid rice in 1964.

“I often drive my car to go to rice paddies to do research,” said the 80-year-old, “The only difference is that when I was young, I rode a bicycle or motorcycle ….you could attribute it to improving life.”

Hybrid rice has also been commercialized in other countries, including India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Bangladesh and the United States.

“For the benefits of the world’ s people, we are well prepared to help other countries develop hybrid rice,” he said.

For Maximin, who is taking a three-week training course on China’s hybrid-rice cultivating technique in Changsha, capital of Central China’s Hunan province, climate change may be an urgent challenge but the global food crisis has been more devastating to a developing country like his.

Since 2008, a growing shortage and the rising price of food have put many developing countries, especially those in Africa, in dire need of more grain.

Once a rice exporter, Madagascar transformed into a rice importer in 2008 due to its expanding population, shifting climate and the country’s still primitive rice-cultivation technique.

Hybrid rice, a technique invented by Chinese academician Yuan Longping and the application of which has helped Chinese farmers harvest 300 million tons more in aggregate output during the past two decades, has become the most sought-after technique for agro-technicians and government officials from developing countries. Maximin is one of the best examples.

“Madagascar has a perfect environment for rice cultivation,” said Maximin on the sideline of his training courses, attended by 43 other agricultural officials from 27 developing countries. “If we adopt a hybrid rice technique nationwide, we expect to see our rice production double in two years and become a rice exporter soon.”

At present, the average rice yield in Madagascar is 2.3 tons per hectare in comparison with China’s average yield of 7.2 tons per hectare for hybrid rice and 5.6 tons per hectare for inbred rice.

“I can’t wait to go back home to spread the technique as rice has become a grain crop of strategic importance to our national economy,” said an excited Maximin, whose training course comes to an end today.

The training course Maximin attended was offered by the Yuan Longping High-Tech Agriculture, a State-owned company named after “the Father of China’s Hybrid Rice”.

It is one of more than 30 training courses the company has been offering since its establishment in June 1999.

The company aims to train 5,000 foreigners, establish 10 breeding centers and expand overseas cultivation bases to 10,000 hectares in 10 years so that countries receiving China’s technical assistance in hybrid rice could breed new crop varieties and reap harvest on their home turf, said Wang Xiusong, director of the company’s international exchange center.

“Without skilled technicians and well-informed government officials, hybrid-rice breeding and cultivation techniques could not be spread far across the world, let alone ease global grain crops shortage,” said Wang.

By September when it was designated as China’s first training base for the spread of hybrid rice breeding and cultivation technique by the Ministry of Commerce, the company has trained more than 2,000 government officials and agro-technicians from 50 countries through more than 30 training courses, Wang said.

The training course Maximin attended is the sixth offered by the company this year, Wang said.

“If the acres under hybrid rice reach half of the total rice planting area, the world’s total rice output could increase by 150 million tons a year, enough to feed 400 million more people,” said Yuan, the revered 80-year-old Chinese agricultural scientist to the boisterous applause of Maximin and other trainees on Friday during his keynote speech in English.

Rice is another main course besides wheat. But there are so many kinds of rice, they are very different from each other in shape, color, taste etc. And  every kind has its own feature and cooking method.Different people like the different kind rice.

All types of rice break down into two basic categories: whole grain rice and white rice. Whole grain rice has been minimally processed, so that it retains its nutrient rich husk. Because whole grain rice is not husked, it takes longer to cook, but it also tends to be more flavorful, aromatic, and colorful. Whole grain rice also has special storage considerations, as it can go rancid if it is kept at room temperature. White rice, on the other hand, has been processed so that the husk or bran is removed, and in some cases it may be polished to take the germ off as well. White rice requires less cooking, and it has a more mild flavor, but it also has less nutritional value, if this was a concern.

Broken Rice, during the milling process, broken rice is separated from the white rice, who shape remains intact. In other words, broken rice is the damaged white rice.A grain of broken rice gives a low fiber texture and low nutrient level, while retaining its high energy content.

White Rice belongs to the Indica (long-grain) category. It is also known as polished rice or fully milled rice because most of the outher layer-the husk and the bran layer-are removed from the kernel, through the milling process.Thai Jasmine White Rice, also called fragrant rice or “Hom Mali” rice, is recognized world wide as Thailand’s specialty.

Thai Jasmine Rice belongs to the indica (long-grain) category and could be devided into 3 main categories as A, B and C according to their quality; Prime Quality, Superb Quality and Premium Quality.

Brown Rice belongs to the indica (logn-grain), similar to white rice.The only difference between these two varieties is the milling. As a result, in brown rice, only the husk is removed while the bran layer remains.Because of the bran layer, brown rice contains more nutrients than white rice. In particular, Brown rice is very high in fiber and vitamin B.

Short Grain Rice belongs to the Japonica (short-grain) category and has short, round, and plumpy dernel. When cooked, short-grained rice is stick together, although not as much as glutinous rice.In Japanese and Korean cuisine, short-grained rice is primary consumed in every meal.

Rice should generally be washed before cooking, to remove pieces of plant material and residual material which may impact the flavor of the rice. Soaking can also cut down on the cooking time, although some recipes may call specifically for rice which is not soaked; in these instances, you should follow the directions of the recipe. Be aware that whole grain types of rice keeps best when stored under refrigeration and used within six months, while white rice can be stored at room temperature for up to a year, and sometimes longer.