China will speed up the development of potato staple food products and industrialization.

Nutrition is more comprehensive, reduce the consumption of soil and water resources, and have great potential to increase per unit yield. The future development prospect of Xiao Tudou should not be underestimated. At the 2015 World Potato Congress and the International Symposium on Potato staple Food products and Industry Development held in Yanqing, Beijing, potato has become the focus of government departments, industry experts and the public.

Key words: balanced nutrition, food security, sustainable

Potato is the fourth largest food crop in the world after rice, wheat and corn, and it is also the fourth largest food crop in China. Last year, China's potato planting area was 5570 thousand hectares, and the fresh potato output was more than 95 million tons, accounting for about 1 million of the world's total area and output, making it the largest country in potato production and consumption.

"Potato contains all seven essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and dietary fiber, and its lysine content is much higher than that of wheat and rice." Wang Xiaohu, director of the Institute of Food and Nutrition Development of the Ministry of Agriculture, said: at present, the annual per capita consumption of potatoes in China is 41.2 kg, which is far lower than that of Europe and the United States, and the consumption structure is single, mainly for fresh vegetables, French fries, and so on. speeding up the development of staple food products such as potato steamed bread and noodles can provide new choices for improving nutrition and health.

It is worth noting that the potato industry is conducive to the sustainable development of agriculture. In arid and semi-arid areas with annual precipitation of about 350 mm, potatoes can not only grow normally, but also reduce soil erosion. The experiment shows that the yield of potato per mu can still reach 1.8 tons under the condition of complete rain cultivation in the over-exploitation area of groundwater in North China with 500 mm annual precipitation.

Potato staple food products and industrialization development are faced with multiple challenges

Experts from the Institute of vegetables and Flowers of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences pointed out that at present, the development of potato staple food products and industries in China are also facing multiple challenges:

-- lack of varieties. At present, among the potato varieties produced and planted in China, only a few varieties are suitable for staple food development with Chinese characteristics, and the special varieties for fried food processing and whole flour processing are still mainly foreign varieties with weak adaptability and poor disease resistance. Steamed bread noodles and rice noodles and other staple food products require different varieties, variety cultivation is the key.

Eating habits. The Chinese have always regarded wheat, rice and corn as staple foods. in order to make potatoes one of the staple foods, apart from making efforts on product quality and patterns, what is more important is how to adapt to the consumption habits of the Chinese people, which will be a long-term process.

-- Price cost. The processing of potato into whole flour needs to go through many processes, and the production cost increases. At present, the price of potato flour is about 10,000 yuan / ton, which is 3 to 4 times that of flour. The high product cost is an important limiting factor of staple food.

-- the benefit is unstable. From 2011 to 2013, potato prices went from the lowest to the highest after a stable period, and in 2014, potato prices in most producing areas entered a downturn, and now prices in all producing areas are on the rise. How to stabilize the planting income and ensure the stability of yield is the key to meet the demand of staple food.

Promote the transformation of potato from non-staple food consumption to staple food consumption

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the first generation of potato steamed bread, which accounts for 30% of the whole potato flour, was listed in Beijing in June and has been sold in more than 200 supermarkets in the city. The second generation of potato staple food products have also been successfully developed. The proportion of potato flour in potato steamed bread, noodles, rice noodles and other staple food products has increased to 70%, 45% and 55% respectively, creating conditions for more consumers to approach potato staple food products.

The reporter learned from the seminar that in the future, China will adhere to the concept of "nutrition guides consumption and consumption guides production", speed up the selection of special varieties for staple food processing, build a production base of high-quality raw materials, and research and develop staple food products and processing technology. we will support leading processing enterprises, promote the transformation of potato from non-staple food consumption to staple food consumption, from raw material products to industrialized series of manufactured products, and from food and clothing consumption to nutrition and health consumption. A new pattern of coordinated development of potatoes and grains has been formed.

In the next step, China will make use of the winter fallow fields in the south, the arid and semi-arid areas in the northwest and the over-exploitation of groundwater in North China to expand potato production according to local conditions. Optimize the production layout of potato staple food raw materials, strengthen the research and development of product technology, cultivate the main body of market consumers, and build the whole industry chain.

At the same time, adhere to the combination of government guidance and market regulation. We will support leading enterprises in the integration of breeding, reproduction, promotion and addition, and scientifically guide the development and market consumption of potato staple food products and industries. We will first cultivate a number of key cities and constantly optimize the distribution of production, processing and consumption.