Spuds touted as key to sustainability
Print Edition
ONCE seen as food for the poor, the humble potato is being pushed in China as a tasty, nutritious part of any meal as the world’s most populous country struggles with water shortages and looks for alternatives to the traditional rice and noodles.
China already produces 95 million tons of potatoes a year, a quarter of the global total, and is aiming to raise that to 130 million tons by 2020, government officials said at the World Potato Congress on the outskirts of Beijing this week.
“In China, the potato industry is no longer an industry for underdeveloped areas or the poor, but highlights the country’s modern agricultural drive and enriches people’s dining tables,” Agriculture Minister Han Changfu told the conference.
The government has begun this year to promote the potato as more of a staple food, particularly as a substitute foodstuff for grain, an idea that has taken on urgency as water problems threaten to undermine food security.
The North China Plain is suffering after decades of excessive underground water use by industry and wheat farmers.
David A Thompson, president of the World Potato Congress, said that potatoes would serve China’s plans to improve agricultural sustainability.
“Potatoes provide more energy and protein per acre than other crops,” he said.
In an exhibition hall, potatoes were used to make dozens of different types of food. “Potatoes can make hundreds or even thousands of dishes,” said Zhang Aiguo, a cook at the exhibition. “If more people get to know that potatoes have more nutrition, they’ll be willing to take them.”
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