Some 26 foreign agricultural  experts have attended a training class here in this capital of  central south China's Hunan Province to study the cultivation  method of hybrid rice.

   Since the 1990s, entrusted by the Food and Agricultural  Organization of the United Nations, Chinese scientist Yuan  Longping, father of hybrid rice, has conducted several similar  training classes with the purpose of spreading the rice species  worldwide.

   Under the leadership of Yuan, Chinese scientists have  cultivated an improved variety of hybrid rice with its per-hectare yield increased to 10.5 tons. Scientists describe the achievement  as having great significance for China's food security in the 21st century.

   So far, trial cultivation of hybrid rice has been conducted on  over 20 countries including the United States, but its  popularization has only been achieved in several countries like  India and Vietnam due to technical reasons.

   Experts attending the current month-long training class come  from eight countries including India, the Philippines, Iran, Sri  Lanka and Pakistan.