After potato becomes a staple grain, industrialization has great prospects
Editor's note: The nation's launch of the potato staple-grain strategy marks that, after wheat, rice and corn, the potato has been “elevated” to a major grain crop in our country, which has triggered a strong response in the potato industry. How to make the potato, which is “both a vegetable and a grain”, better highlight its value as a staple grain - the key lies in working on industrialization. Right now, major potato-producing areas are stepping up efforts to formulate or adjust industrial development plans for the potato staple-grain strategy, and potato enterprises are also “raring to go”, promptly adjusting their strategies and developing staple-grain products. There is no doubt that advancing the potato staple-grain strategy through industrialization will surely accelerate the optimization and upgrading of the entire potato industry chain.
1.5 million mu of plateau potatoes await the release of latecomer advantages——
Qinghai: A big step closer to processing staple foods
Staff reporter Gao Jinliang
Qinghai Province is one of the most suitable potato-growing regions in the country, and has basically formed a regional layout consisting of virus-free seed potato production bases in the high-cold and cool areas, vegetable-type commercial potato bases in the river-irrigated areas, and commercial potato production bases in the eastern shallow-mountain areas and the Qaidam Basin. Since the “11th Five-Year Plan”, Qinghai has listed potatoes as one of its ten characteristic industries and given them priority development.
In 2014, Qinghai Province's potato planting area reached 1,393,500 mu, second only to rapeseed, with total fresh potato output reaching 1,797,500 tons and an average yield of 1,289.92 kg per mu. If calculated at 5 jin of fresh potatoes to 1 jin of staple grain, Qinghai's total potato output is equivalent to 359,500 tons of staple grain, accounting for more than one third of the province's total grain output. Qinghai is a small agricultural province and a large pastoral province; grain production must first ensure the basic self-sufficiency of farmers and herders in staple food. The proposal of the potato staple-grain strategy will certainly make its position in the province's grain production structure even more prominent.
Opportunity——Strengthen the strategic reserve of whole potato flour
The nation's implementation of the potato staple-grain strategy will strongly support potato production, storage and processing. Zhang Yuan, deputy director of the Grain and Oil Division of the Qinghai Provincial Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, said this is not only conducive to Qinghai ensuring the basic self-sufficiency of farmers and herders in staple food, but also conducive to adding value through deep processing of potatoes, and even more conducive to the development and growth of potato processing enterprises, which in turn provides support for the staple-grain strategy. The little potato is expected to become a big industry.
Zhang Yuan said Qinghai will adopt a series of measures to promote the development of the potato staple-grain strategy, ensuring the potato planting area remains stable at 1.5 million mu; screening, according to local conditions, leading potato varieties suited to different ecological regions, advancing virus-free potato production, and vigorously developing commercial potatoes; accelerating base-oriented potato production and implementing an operating mechanism of unified seed supply, unified technical services and unified order purchasing; integrating and assembling practical technologies such as double-film and plastic-film mulching cultivation techniques for potatoes and soil-testing formula fertilization; strengthening integrated pest and disease control; and raising the potato yield per unit area.
For enterprises, the potato staple-grain strategy has come at just the right time. “The implementation of the potato staple-grain strategy helps processing enterprises advance toward the entire industry chain, and the first priority in this development is the processing of whole potato flour.” Du Yuhong, Party secretary of Qinghai Weistone Potato Industry Group Co., Ltd., said it is suggested that the nation should elevate whole potato flour to the level of strategic reserve, which is of great significance for ensuring food security.
Change——Insufficient storage and processing capacity will be improved
According to the reporter's understanding, currently only 3 provincial-level enterprises in Qinghai are engaged in potato processing and product development, with an annual potato processing capacity of about 240,000 tons. A series of problems, including few processing enterprises, weak strength, insufficient processing capacity and deep processing failing to keep up, urgently need to be solved in the process of the potato staple-grain strategy.
Qinghai Weistone Potato Industry Group Co., Ltd. mainly produces three major categories of products: whole potato flour, refined starch and modified starch. Although it is second to none in Qinghai's industry, the enterprise also has its own troubles. Du Yuhong said the enterprise's weak storage capacity and insufficient scientific research strength for new product development are the two major difficulties it currently faces.
Zhang Yuan believes that, as the potato staple-grain strategy advances in depth, these difficulties will be gradually resolved.
At the government level, the construction of potato storage facilities will be further strengthened, potato industry development will be made a key focus of investment attraction and industrialization support, deep processing of potatoes will be promoted, the capacity for potato processing and conversion and the level of commercialization will be gradually raised, and industrialized operation of potatoes will be advanced. At the same time, technical model research will be carried out for the staple-grain strategy, staple-grain processing techniques will be improved and perfected, and publicity and guidance for staple-grain consumption will be done well, truly making the potato a staple food on ordinary people's dining tables.
In 2014, the Qinghai Provincial Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry arranged more than 2 million yuan in funds to encourage and assist Weistone Potato Industry in internal integration so as to improve its processing and marketing capabilities. Dang Chenting, director of the Industrialization Division of the Qinghai Provincial Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, said: “Potato processing enterprises should work hard on extending the industry chain and move closer to processing staple foods. This is also the direction we will further support in the future.”
Measures——
Reasonably guide and respond to market risks
Behind the opportunities also lie many risks. In recent years, “unsalable potato” incidents have occurred from time to time. For Qinghai, potatoes account for a relatively small share of the national total, and its ability to withstand market risks is extremely limited. Once an “unsalable” incident occurs, the most direct victims are potato growers.
Zhang Yuan admitted that, along with the implementation of the potato staple-grain strategy, the potato planting area will grow substantially and its output will also increase greatly. Once the consumer market is sluggish, market prices will become unstable or even fall.
As for how to respond, the government has much to do. On the one hand, it should increase guidance on planting to avoid blind planting causing difficulties in selling potatoes, and at the same time increase the construction of potato storage facilities, improve potato reserve capacity, and encourage cooperatives and enterprises to purchase more; on the other hand, it should mobilize farmers to make full use of existing vegetable fresh-keeping warehouses, storage cellars and the like to store more, avoid short-term concentrated sales, extend the sales period, and achieve balanced off-season sales.
Du Yuhong suggested that diversified potato varieties should be reasonably introduced, promoted and guided for farmers to plant. In addition to ordinary table potatoes, special-purpose potatoes needed by processing enterprises should also be planted, so that farmers can truly “walk on two legs” and better cope with market risks.
From raising land output to becoming a local advantageous industry, from solving food and clothing problems to becoming a staple grain variety——
Looking at Guizhou potatoes' “transformation plan”
Staff reporter Liu Jiufeng
“Don't treat potatoes as not being dry rations.” The Ministry of Agriculture's measure of using scientific and technological innovation to lead the development of the potato staple-grain strategy indicates that the little potato is about to join the ranks of staple grains. As one of the country's major potato-producing provinces, how should Guizhou respond to this good news? Where is the direction of potato industry development?
Treating potatoes as a staple grain is nothing new
In Guizhou, the topic of making potatoes a staple grain is nothing new. Over the years, Guizhou has vigorously grasped the potato industry and treated potatoes, alongside rice, wheat and corn, as a major grain crop to be emphasized.
Huang Junming, chief agronomist of the Guizhou Provincial Agricultural Commission, said all 88 counties and cities in the province grow potatoes, of which 42 counties and cities have been listed by the Ministry of Agriculture as national advantageous potato-producing areas. In raising the output of millions of mu of “rain-fed” medium- and low-yield farmland in Guizhou, potatoes have indeed contributed greatly.