Explaining the push to make potatoes a staple food: What impact will it have once potatoes become a staple grain?

On the 6th, Vice Minister of Agriculture Yu Xinrong said at the “Potato Staple Food Strategy Seminar” that in the future, by advancing the move to make potatoes a staple food, and striving through several years of unremitting effort, the potato planting area, per-unit yield level, total output and the share of staple-food potato products in total potato consumption should all increase significantly, so that potatoes gradually become China's fourth-largest staple grain crop after rice, wheat and corn.

The meeting held that making potatoes a staple food has become an inevitable choice, and it is expected that by 2020, more than 50% of potatoes will be consumed as a staple food. Yu Xinrong said the potato planting area will be expanded according to local conditions, “on the premise of not crowding out the three major staple grains, expanding the potato planting area from the current more than 80 million mu to 150 million mu, and raising the per-mu potato yield to more than 2 tons, to provide more guarantee for national food security.”

Explaining the push to make potatoes a staple food: What impact is there after promotion to staple food?

□Explanation

What principles does the staple-food push follow?

On the principle of advancing it, the “one no and three uphold” must be achieved.

The “one no” is not competing with the three major staple grains of wheat, rice and corn for water and land. The “three uphold” are upholding both staple-food use and comprehensive utilization, upholding both government guidance and market determination, and upholding both overall advancement and key breakthroughs.

Is the push to make potatoes a staple food because of food security?

At present, potatoes are regarded as a vegetable in many places. Although they have been recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture as a grain crop and are China's fourth-largest grain crop after rice, wheat and corn, they still have not risen to the status of a “staple food.”

Vice Minister of Agriculture Yu Xinrong pointed out at the seminar that developing potatoes as a staple food is an important measure for thoroughly implementing the central government's efforts to promote agricultural structural adjustment, transformation of development modes and sustainable development, and is an active exploration under the new situation to safeguard national food security and promote sustained increases in farmers' incomes.

Ye Xingqing, director of the Rural Economy Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council, who attended the meeting, said that in the past year or two the Ministry of Agriculture has also been vigorously promoting the staple-foodization of potatoes, but the convening of this meeting was at a relatively high level and has landmark significance.

A crop research expert from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences said that China has indeed for a fairly long time attached importance to staple rations such as wheat and rice while neglecting other grain crops such as corn and potatoes, and that the meaning of food security also includes diversity in the food structure, so the role of potatoes should be further brought into play.

What impact is there after promotion to “staple food”?

An expert from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences said that the status of a “staple food” and a “non-staple food” is completely different. Becoming a staple grain crop means enjoying more support and preferential policies in industry, and in scientific research there are also large amounts of project funding invested in research such as developing new varieties.

Ye Xingqing also said that at present in China, from national teams to local teams, research and development on potatoes is very weak. Crop research such as wheat is a key scientific research target, and projects are easy to obtain, but by contrast projects and investment in potato research and development are insufficient.

Ye Xingqing said that in areas such as the northwest there are still poor areas that use potatoes as a staple food, but for most places, especially economically developed areas, potatoes are used more for cooking dishes or leisure foods.

Lu Dianqiu, deputy director of the Virus-Free Seedling Research Institute of the Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that making potatoes a staple food does not mean they will become the main fresh food people eat, but will be reflected more in processed products, most prominently whole potato flour and starch made from potatoes, used to make processed foods such as steamed buns and noodles.

How high is the potato yield increase potential?

Lu Dianqiu said that China's current average yields of corn, rice and wheat have already exceeded the world average, but because arable land area is limited, the room for increasing yields is also very small, and raising yields is relatively difficult.

As for potatoes, he said, the national average yield is lower than the world level, at one-half to one-third of the level of developed countries, and China's per capita potato consumption is only 14 kg, far lower than developed countries. Potatoes still have great potential for increasing yields. As long as investment in technology, varieties and funding is increased, a relatively large increase in yield can be achieved without increasing arable land area.

Wang Peilun, a potato expert at the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, introduced that if calculated by dry matter yield, the yield of potatoes can be higher than that of corn and wheat. For example, Shandong's highest wheat yield last year reached more than 800 kg per mu, while after conversion by dry matter yield, the per-unit yield of potatoes can reach more than 1000 kg.

Do eating habits affect potato consumption?

A reporter visited an old-established grain store in Dongcheng District yesterday and found that there were very few processed potato products, and their prices were more expensive. For example, in the case of starch, the store's potato starch was priced at twice that of ordinary corn starch. In addition, staple food processed products in the store such as steamed buns and noodles were basically made from wheat and corn.

Wang Peilun said that at present, for potato processors, there is the problem of excessively high raw material costs, which is related to many factors such as the time limits on preserving fresh potatoes. “Raw materials leaving the factory need cold storage, which requires capital allocation for factory facilities,” he said.

He said that for ordinary consumers, due to inherent eating habits, consumption of potatoes is not large, while internationally, developed countries such as those in Europe and America have the largest potato consumption and African countries have the smallest. “Overall, developed countries consume more potatoes because their per capita consumption capacity is very high.”

What kind of staple food will potatoes become?

Ye Xingqing said that at present the weaker links in the potato industry are processing and consumption. Because fresh potatoes are not conducive to preservation, it is advocated that they be processed. After becoming whole flour they can be preserved for a long time, and the whole flour can be made into foods such as steamed buns, stuffed buns, noodles and bread.

Lu Dianqiu also said that after potatoes are made into processed products such as whole flour, they have wide applications and are also very convenient to store and transport.

He said that potatoes becoming a staple food does not simply mean french fries and potato chips, but will appear more in forms such as noodles and steamed buns. Snack foods are also necessary, but if they are not turned into steamed buns and noodles, they can never be reflected in staple foods.

He added, “For individuals there will not be much impact. Those who liked eating steamed buns will still eat steamed buns, and those who liked eating noodles will still eat noodles. National policy is not coercive. Whether it can become a staple food ultimately has to be recognized by ordinary people in terms of variety, nutrition and other aspects.”