Tibetannet

It's shocking and terribly distressful news that “Dr. Highland Barley” died at the age of 55 in a car accident on Sept. 5, when the harvest was about to be gathered.

Born in an ordinary farmer's family in Lhoka, SW China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, Nyima Tashi had been devoted to agricultural research since 1989.

As Tibet’s chief scientist of highland barley crop breeding, he led his team in finalizing the seed selection of over 20 high-quality barley varieties, among which Zangqing 148, Zangqing 690, and Zangqing 2000 are the more popular choices locally.

Now, more than half of the cultivated land in the region are planted with Zangqing 2000, and the highly productive crop has helped hundreds of thousands of Tibetan farmers shake off poverty through increased income.