At the time of the famines, Dr. Chang Te-Tzu, presently a special consultant to the Committee of International Technological Cooperation (CITC; the governmental organ which oversees the missions), stood alone in promoting a kind of "fertilizer-efficient," high-yield, short-growth variety of rice known as "Taichong # 1."
現任海外技術合作委員會特約顧問的張德慈博士，當時獨步全球，推出耐肥豐產的「台中在來一號」矮生稻種。