Ly Chan Thanh - a man who is

Top Chinese agricultural expert - Li Zhen Qing was honored to receive the 2006 National Supreme Science and Technology Award by President Hu Jintao for his achievements in research and development of high-yielding wheat varieties. products that are resistant to pests and diseases, contributing to ensuring food security in the country.

The 76-year-old science academy is the 10th scientist to receive a prestigious award of 5 million yuan since it was founded in 2000.

Coming from a poor peasant family in Shandong province and having experienced hunger and hunger in his childhood, more than anyone Ly Chan Thanh understood the hardship of the farmers who had a two-dawn sunshine to stick their whole life to the field.

When he was 13 years old, his father died leaving his wife with four small children. Losing the pillar member, his family was struggling to become more and more difficult. Due to lack of tuition fees, Ly Chan Thanh had to drop out of school halfway to leave a towel to Jinan in hopes of getting a job and helping her mother. Here, he was intrigued by the announcement of student accommodation for students of Shandong University of Agriculture. From the early days of his lecture chair, he was especially passionate about the subjects of breeding wheat and genes. On every occasion of summer vacation, Ly Chan Thanh often brings with him some new varieties of high yielding wheat to test the farmers.

(Graduated from Baocantho) After graduating with an honors degree, he was assigned to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in charge of the project to study how grass can improve soil quality. Five years later, he moved to Shaanxi Province. At that time, rust disease (also known as wheat cancer) caused by fungal infections devastated many wheat fields in the Northwest region with a high rate of infection and could result in a 50% reduction in yield. All fungicides are used but ineffective because the fungus is capable of rapidly changing genes.

After years of research in the Northwest, he discovered Yanmaicao herbal grass, which is inherently closely related to rust-resistant wheat plants. Ly Chan Thanh decided to combine this grass with wheat to produce a high-disease resistant wheat by transferring disease-resistant genes from grass to wheat. But this is not easy, but thanks to perseverance, over 20 years later (1979), Ly Chan Thanh launched Xiaoyan hybrid wheat for high stability, good quality and high disease resistance - into hybrid fruit from more than 70 hybrids. In the past 3 decades, the production of Xiaoyan wheat varieties has been continuously improved.

Ly Chan Thanh said: 'When I decided to study wheat, I did not expect my life to be associated with this food crop'. Currently, despite his high age, he still spends 6-7 hours working in the fields every day, researching and talking to farmers. The happiness of this aging scientist is to create high-yielding rice varieties that help improve the lives of farmers.

THAI AN