(XINHUA)

The 84-year-old Chinese agricultural scientist and educator Yuan Longping was nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to food safety in Asia.

Yuan, known as the Father of Hybrid Rice in the Chinese media, is known for developing the first hybrid rice varieties back in the 1970s. These rice species yielded significantly more than common species at the time and were able to withstand water shortages. Yuan's hybrid rice is now used in more than 20 countries and in over 50 percent of China's rice fields.

Yuan is currently the director general of the China National Hybrid Rice R&D Center and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including the 2004 World Food Prize and the 2004 Wolf Prize in Agriculture.