Potato Staple Food Development Must Overcome Three Hurdles

Editor's Note

Since the implementation of potato staple food development 3 years ago, product research and development has accelerated, processing techniques have continuously improved, processing enterprises have continuously grown, the market has continuously expanded, mechanisms have continuously improved, potato staple food culture has continuously taken root in people's hearts, and potato staple food products are entering thousands of households. As an innovative systematic project, potato staple food development involves multiple links such as production, processing and consumption. Among them, the whole-process mechanization in the production link has many shortcomings, becoming the main factor restricting the pace of potato staple food development.

The First Hurdle - Farmers' Insufficient Awareness of Mechanized Production

"China is a major producer of potato crops. Potato crops, mainly potatoes, are important crops used as food, feed, vegetables and energy, with a planting area of 11.6 million hectares, ranking first in the world," said Yang Deqiu, director of the R&D Center of Zoomlion Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd. However, the level of potato production mechanization does not match its planting area. "At present, the whole-process mechanization level of potatoes in China has not yet reached 30%. Among this, the mechanized harvesting level is only 17.7%, while in major potato-producing areas such as Yunnan and Guangxi it is only about 1%, which is worlds apart from the current mechanization level of 95% in developed countries." Faced with such data, Yang Deqiu said with regret, "Many farmers who grow potatoes have not yet realized the significance of mechanization for increasing their yields."

Indeed, for a long time, potatoes have been regarded as a type of cash crop, and their production method is also labor-intensive, requiring a large amount of manpower for every link from sowing to harvesting. With the reduction of rural labor, the traditional planting model is clearly out of step with the times. At the same time, farmers' usual practice for increasing potato yields is to apply large amounts of fertilizer. "China's agricultural modernization process is close to the Japanese model. Japanese agriculture chose the path of improving varieties and improving soil first, and mechanization later. The specific path is land improvement - chemicalization - improved seeds - mechanization. Only after passing through the 'chemicalization' stage will it pay more attention to the development of mechanization and improved seeds," explained Zhang Huaguang, deputy secretary-general of the China Agricultural Machinery Distribution Association. Obviously, at present, potato production is still in the chemicalization stage. "In my research, I found that in some places, in order to pursue high potato yields, farmers' fertilization can be called 'bottomless,' with the amount of fertilizer applied per mu reaching 150 kg. In European and American countries, the maximum amount of fertilizer applied is only 30 kg per mu," Yang Deqiu said. How to raise farmers' awareness and make them realize that mechanized production is the most effective means of improving potato quality and yield is the first hurdle on the road to promoting whole-process potato mechanization.

The Second Hurdle - Regional Integration of Machinery and Agronomy Is Even More Difficult

For a long time, the integration problem between agricultural machinery and agronomy, these two "brothers," has been regarded as the most important bottleneck in the development of potato production mechanization. In this regard, Professor Li Guomin of the Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Machinery Engineering Sciences said, "The integration of agricultural machinery and agronomy is not only a nationwide problem, but also a regional one."

In China, potato planting regions are divided into the Northeast and North China single-cropping region, the Northwest single-cropping region, the Southwest mixed single- and double-cropping region, the Central Plains double-cropping region and the Southern winter cropping region. Differences among regions in geographical characteristics, planted varieties and other factors mean that the specific problems each region needs to solve are also different. Therefore, solving the contradiction between agricultural machinery and agronomy in one place does not mean it is applicable nationwide. "For example, the Northeast and North China regions have flat terrain, large plots, wide-row and high-ridge planting, and fast development of enterprise-based planting, with a relatively high level of whole-process mechanization. More than 70% of the Northwest region is hillside land, with small plots, poor farmland infrastructure, many planting models, and extensive farming methods, mostly requiring small and medium-sized machinery. The Southwest region is mostly mountainous, with small and scattered plots; some larger dam areas have rich planting models, relatively extensive farming, and a low level of mechanization. In the Southern winter cropping region, potatoes are planted in winter fallow rice fields, with small plots and heavy clay soil, mostly using ridge or bed planting; at present, it is still mainly manual work," Yang Deqiu explained. "The same machine may not be applicable in different places. Take the potato harvesting link as an example. At present, there are mainly two methods: combined harvesting and segmented harvesting. Usually, combined harvesting is considered the harvesting method with the highest degree of mechanization. However, combined harvesting is not applicable in the Northeast region, where the degree of mechanization is relatively high. Because the soil in this region is sticky and heavy, the vibrating device of the combine harvester cannot shake the mud off the potato tubers. If the force is too strong, it will also cause internal rupture of the potato tubers, forming water cores and causing internal rot, and this rot will quickly spread to other potatoes. Therefore, developing potato mechanization must analyze specific problems on a case-by-case basis."

"Due to the stark geographical and climatic differences among regions, products adapted to one region are difficult to promote and expand to other regions. The degree of product individualization is high, making mass production and sales very difficult," Li Guomin added. It can thus be seen that improving the level of whole-process potato mechanization cannot blindly pursue numerical growth. Rather, it should improve the quality of mechanized production and develop and manufacture machinery suitable for potato production in different regions in a targeted way, so that agricultural machinery and agronomy can truly integrate.

The Third Hurdle - Potato Storage Has Not Yet Been Solved

"Whole-process potato mechanization involves land preparation, sowing, intertillage, plant protection and harvesting, and further extends to graded storage, so that the whole process of potato commercialization can be realized," Li Guomin said. Indeed, at present, the storage problem of potatoes also urgently needs to be solved.

Wheat, corn and rice can be stored for a long time after drying and dehydration. Unlike these three major staple grains, potatoes have a "vegetable" attribute, so their storage requires suitable constant-temperature conditions. It is understood that the suitable storage temperature for potatoes is about 5°C. Too high a temperature will cause mildew and rot, too low a temperature will cause frost damage, and if exposed to the sun, the skin will turn green and become inedible. Such high storage requirements really pose a difficult problem for farmers who grow potatoes. "At present, after potatoes are harvested in most areas of China, manual grading and selection are used, and then they are bagged for storage. On the one hand, this storage method consumes manpower and material resources; on the other hand, this method is also not suitable for long-term storage of potatoes," Yang Deqiu said.

If the potato storage problem is not well solved, it will also cause price fluctuations and affect farmers' enthusiasm for planting. "Take Inner Mongolia as an example. Because farmers have nowhere to store potatoes, after the autumn harvest every year, potatoes are concentrated on the market, and prices naturally fall. If large-scale storage bases were built, the market circulation volume could be well regulated," Li Guomin said.

It is understood that many foreign potato product manufacturers, such as the American company PepsiCo and the company Simplot, have very mature practical experience in storage, which is worth learning from. At present, some domestic agricultural machinery production enterprises have also noticed the problem of potato storage. Wu Hongzhu, general manager of Qingdao Hongzhu Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd., which has been committed to the research, development and production of potato machinery, has a very clear goal. He revealed that the company's next research and development focus will be on intelligent adjustable constant-temperature storage for potatoes, to give potatoes a home as soon as possible.