[3] While he was working toward his Masters at Cornell in 1982, Rozelle attempted to perform researches regarding "the system of contract labor in rural areas" in Shandong, China through applying for the fund by the United States National Science Foundation.
[5] Nevertheless, the plan was not successful and Rozelle ended up leaving school temporarily to work until about two years later, he was sent to China by Cornell as an instructor of Western economics upon receiving an invitation from Nanjing Agricultural University.
[5] Due to his strong interest in "poverty alleviation in rural areas", Rozelle picked hybrid rice production as the subject of his doctoral dissertation and acquired his Ph.D. from the Department of Agricultural Economics of Cornell University in 1991.
[5] According to a report published by Chinese magazine Caixin in 2015, Rozelle's team collected data in regions such as Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia, and concluded that, in northwestern China, iron-deficiency anemia appeared to be common for nearly 40% of students in fourth and fifth grade, causing poor health condition to children in rural areas.
[5] During his visits to numerous villages, Rozelle noticed that food varieties such as steamed buns, noodles, and rice compromised a major portion of rural children's diet, whereas meat and fresh vegetables and fruit were pretty scarce.
[5] But Rozelle's team made the estimation that only two daily servings of fresh vegetables and meat costing 7 to 8 yuan each would suffice the amount of iron needed for those children, meaning a real effective solution could largely increase the demand for funds.