China-Singapore Jingwei Client, October 25 (Zhao Jiaran) has been studying rice for more than 20 years. He is known as the "Father of Hybrid Rice in the Philippines", but he said that he is just a "farmer in a suit."
He is Lin Yuqing, chairman of the Philippine-Chinese Chamber of Commerce. With the dream of growing hybrid rice in the Philippines, he fought repeatedly and finally launched "tropical hybrid rice", which was recognized by governments of various countries.
Talking about his business philosophy, Lin Yuqing summed it up this way: "We have never been afraid of competition. I once said that the biggest risk for entrepreneurs is not to take risks. If there is competition, we will eat it for breakfast; even It can be said that it is precisely because of competition that we will survive and have the opportunity to show our strength.”
Picture provided by Lin Yuqing, chairman of the Philippine-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“Farmers in suits”
Lin Yuqing’s ancestral home is Fujian. Quanzhou is the third generation Chinese in the Philippines. Due to the early death of his father, he shouldered the burden of the family at a young age and took over businesses such as stationery companies and real estate companies. By chance, Lin Yuqing, who had never cared about agriculture before, developed an indissoluble bond with rice.
"At that time, China's population accounted for 22% of the world's population, but its arable land accounted for only 7% of the world's. If the Philippines wants to develop agriculture, it is very important to learn from China's advanced science and technology." After deciding to shift its career focus to agriculture , Lin Yuqing began to study the technology of Chinese hybrid rice with great concentration, and thus got acquainted with Yuan Longping, the father of Chinese hybrid rice.
Photos provided by interviewees Yuan Longping and Lin Yuqing
"Teacher Yuan Longping and I hit it off right away. At that time, he told me that he wanted to develop hybrid rice all over the world." However, Lin Yuqing knew nothing about agriculture at that time and was trying to bring hybrid rice to the world. In the process of "landing" in the Philippines, various difficulties came one after another.
China's hybrid rice is suitable for planting in temperate zones, but the Philippines is in the tropics, and the growth cycle of rice is quite different. Lin Yuqing tried 75 Chinese hybrid rice varieties, but all were wiped out. After experiencing repeated failures, he once wanted to give up, but his mother's encouragement gave him renewed hope: "Why not develop a rice variety specifically grown in the tropics?"
In 1998, Lin Yuqing invested in opening a hybrid rice planting base in the Philippines. , researching technology while planting. In January 2001, Lin Yuqing launched the Philippines' first tropical hybrid rice variety "SL-8H", namely "Xining No. 8". Yuan Longping once commented: "Xining 8 is a high-yielding, high-quality, multi-resistant pioneer hybrid rice suitable for planting in tropical areas." After
was successfully harvested in the Philippines, Lin Yuqing tried to promote the new variety to surrounding countries. "In the early days of promotion, farmers did not believe that this hybrid rice had such a high yield. After a period of demonstration, the new variety was gradually accepted," Lin Yuqing said.
Today, tropical hybrid rice is grown on more than 400,000 hectares of farmland in the Philippines, and has been promoted to Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and other countries, and has been welcomed by local governments. Lin Yuqing said that he still aims to promote hybrid rice internationally and has trained a second generation of hybrid rice experts who are committed to researching rice varieties with higher yield, better taste and resistance to pests.
Although he is an entrepreneur, Lin Yuqing prefers to call himself a "farmer in a suit." "One seed can change a person's life, and one seed can prosper a country." Lin Yuqing said that the increase in rice production can make Filipino farmers richer, and their living conditions will also improve, and more people will wear straight clothes. The suit also showed a better mental outlook, which made him quite gratified.
"My 'biological father' is China, and my 'adoptive father' is the Philippines"
"China is my ancestral home and my 'biological father', and the Philippines is my birthplace and my 'adopted father'."I hope that through my own efforts, the bridge between China and the Philippines will become wider and wider. If it was a single-plank bridge before, I hope it can grow into a 500-meter-wide cement bridge in the future. "Talk about his views on the relationship between China and the Philippines, Lin Yuqing said with a smile.
In order to better help farmers and domestic entrepreneurs in the two countries, Lin Yuqing has made unremitting efforts, and joining the Philippine-Chinese Chamber of Commerce is also an important one.
The Philippine Chinese Business Federation was founded in 1954. Now it has more than 170 overseas Chinese associations across the Philippines. It is the largest Chinese business organization in the Philippines. Lin Yuqing currently serves as the chairman of the Federation. The organization not only provides assistance to the Chinese in the Philippines, but also provides assistance to the Chinese business community in the Philippines.
Lin Yuqing’s decades of efforts have also been highly recognized by the local government. In August this year, President Duterte of the Philippines awarded Lin Yuqing. The Lakandula Medal and Certificate recognize their commitment to contributing to society. The Lakandula Award was established in 2003 to recognize Filipino citizens or foreigners who have made outstanding contributions to social welfare.
Respondents of the Lakandula Award given to Lin Yuqing by President Duterte of the Philippines. Picture
Talking about the prospects for the future, Lin Yuqing said that the Philippine-Chinese Chamber of Commerce will continue to promote the Filipino-Chinese industry to actively explore cooperation business opportunities, and will also work hard to integrate old overseas Chinese and new overseas Chinese, and actively guide Chinese investment and Chinese investment in the Philippines and China. Both are beneficial industries.
“This is the golden age of cooperation between China and the Philippines. " Lin Yuqing said, "Nowadays, Chinese merchant ships come to the Philippines every day, and the Philippines has also opened a 'Belt and Road' consultation center to better help Chinese people who come here to start businesses and invest. Lin Yuqing said that decades of cooperation with the Chinese industry have convinced him that the non-governmental economic and trade exchanges and industry cooperation between the Philippines and China have always been very real. He is confident that cooperation will be deeper in the future. (China-Singapore Jingwei APP)
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