The 'Juncao' technology (jun meaning fungi, cao meaning grass), allows Fijians to grow several types of nutritious mushrooms from dried, chopped grasses; thus serving as a means of livelihood for thousands.

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Lin is a professor at the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University first got the idea for this technology during the 1970s.

"People were starving in those days, even to death. But cattle rarely died of hunger. So I asked myself, why couldn't people eat grass just like cattle?" he said. 

After many years of diligent research, Lin made the world's very first Juncao mushroom sprout from a bottle filled with chopped bird's foot fern in 1986. Since that day, the Chinese scientist and his Juncao team never looked back, cultivating Juncao mushrooms from 45 different kinds of wild grasses and fibers - from elephant grass and husks to sugarcane stalks.

Lin believes the traditional method of cultivating mushrooms is damaging the environment as it involves the use of sawdust and wood chips which lead to the cutting down of trees. His Juncao technology not only prevents deforestation but also provides Fijians with a new medicinal food that boosts the immune system and helps fight diseases.

According to the Fiji Times, Chinese company Juncao Mushroom Technology invested $14 million for the cultivation of edible Asian mushrooms in Fiji in 2014.  

The China Aid Fiji Juncao Technology Cooperation Project managed to commercialize the Fijian-grown produce on the Pacific island country's domestic market for the first time later that year.

Lin expressed his happiness on helping Fiji with the emerging Juncao industry and providing a means of subsistence for thousands of poor families. He believes that Juncao technology has the potential of promoting friendly relations between the People's Republic and Fiji and alleviating poverty.

Lin believes that by using one percent of China's 400 million hectares of grassland, China's Juncao industry could generate more than 90 million tons of fresh mushrooms worth 720 billion yuan (US$105.6 billion) and 24 million jobs.

Since 1995, under the supervision of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University's Juncao Research Institute, where Lin is a professor, has successfully held several courses 276 agricultural researchers and officials have participated from 52 countries in Asia, Africa, Oceania, South America, North America, and Europe.

Lin's ideas and efforts, combined with the support from the Chinese government, are providing thousands of poor farmers in countries like Fiji, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Lesotho, Rwanda and many more a stable and dignified source of livelihood.