Editor's note: The Ministry of Agriculture officially issued the Guideline on Promoting the Development of the Potato Industry on February 2016, which aims to promote the potato industrialization. According to the guideline, the planting area of potatoes will expand to more than 100 million mu by 2020. Meanwhile, the proportion of the species used to produce the staple food will reach 30 percent and the staple food consumption will account for 30 percent of the overall potato consumption.

The primary task of modern agriculture development is to guarantee national food security. To achieve the goal, based on national resources and the variations of food supply and demand, China will conform to the new trend of consumption upgrading, adopt an overall perspective regarding food and explore food resources.

Developing potatoes as the staple food does not mean eating fried potatoes, stewed potatoes or steamed potatoes every day. Instead, potatoes can be made into food with local favors like harsh browns, traditional Chinese rice-pudding, as well as potato snacks such as potato chips.

 

Farmers loosen the soil for potatoes in Lengquan village, Shanting district, Zaozhuang city, Shandong province on April 26 ,2015 [china.org.cn by Liu Mingxiang]